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Latest News
USA TODAY says: Put THE LAST ORACLE in your Beach Bag
I always like those "summer beach read" lists. I've discovered several new authors from these lists, so it was a thrill to see The Last Oracle included on USA TODAY's summer list. Here's a link to the coverage:
Books For Your Beach Bag
Fourth of July is tomorrow! What are your plans? Mine: To catch WALL-E at the movie theaters (yes, I'm a sucker for Pixar flicks) and a BBQ with some friends.
Hope everyone has a safe and sane Fourth! Don't forget the sun screen!
Jim
The Glenn Beck Program and Everything Else West of the Mississippi
I just thought I'd drop in here and post a brief update from the road. I'm winding up the leg of the book tour that covers points west of the Mississippi. A highlight came just yesterday when I appeared on the Glenn Beck Program on CNN. Glenn generously commented that after reading the first two chapters of The Last Oracle, “I can't wait to get home to read more of it.” Which certainly made me blush a bit. If you'd like to see a video of this interview, here's a link:
The Glenn Beck Program
Over the past week, I've had a wonderful time touring the countryside west of the Mississippi (barring the 4 hours sitting on the tarmac in San Antonio after the Houston airport shut down due to thunderstorms). Best of all was meeting everyone on the road. I've been communicating with many of you for so long via email that it's always great to finally put a face to a screenname (and Jennie, thanks for the cookies and the fudge...that care package was just the ticket to survive a long wait in an airport!).
Next up: Everything EAST of the Mississippi! Hope to see many more of you on the road!
Podcast about THE LAST ORACLE
In my previous post, I mentioned the chaos that was Book Expo America. While I was there, I did a short podcast interview in the main hall. With THE LAST ORACLE due to be released in a few more days (Tuesday, June 24th), I thought I'd share the interview here.
A Week of Books: Touring and Book Expo America
I'm sitting in my office with my golden retriever Penny sprawled across both my feet. She's barely left my side since I returned from a week-long book tour for Indiana Jones, followed by a weekend at Book Expo America (the annual book trade show) in Los Angeles. It's good to be home, but I must say that seven days immersed in all things bookish is not a bad way to spend the week (despite sleep deprivation). Here's a quick summary of an author on the road:
Tuesday: Flew to Minneapolis from Sacramento and did a quick in-studio interview with WCCO radio in Minneapolis (Thanks, Don!) then enjoyed a wonderful afternoon hitting a few bookstores to sign stock copies of Indiana Jones and the KOCS and The Judas Strain. Finally in the evening, I did a signing event at a Barnes & Noble in Edina where I talked about the experience of writing Indiana Jones with an enthusiastic crowd, who included a few people who I've only chatted with in the past via email, so it was nice to put a face to a screenname. In attendance also was "Minnesota Jones," who had a table set up with reproduction props from the earlier films. It was great meeting him and seeing his collection (if I had remembered to bring my camera, I would've taken a picture....it was an impressive collection).
Wednesday: Got up at 4 am and flew to Atlanta, Georgia, where I was rushed from plane to the studios at CNN and did an interview with CNN International and CNN.com...then it was off to more stock signings across Atlanta, then did a special stopover at Eagle Eye Books (thanks, George!) and continued on to Wordsmiths Books, where I did another talk and Q&A to a great audience.
Thursday: flew to Pittsburgh, PA (which really is a beautiful river city: rolling hills, handsome neighborhoods, wonderful waterfront). Again I hit a few stores to sign some stock, then off to a unique event put together by Mystery Lovers Bookshop ( Thanks, Richard!). The bookstore arranged for me to speak before and after a screening of Indiana Jones at the stunning Oak Theater in Oakmont, PA (Thanks, Jeff!). It was great fun talking about the movie afterward, like sitting with 150 close friends and debating the pros and cons of the film. I signed books in the lobby after the talk, where the Indy event overlapped a charity screening of Sex in the City. Those arriving for the sneak preview (a very boisterous crowd of women) also ended up getting in line for signed and doodled copies of the Indy book. So all in all it was a fun night.
Friday thru Sunday: After two hours of sleep, up at 2 am on Friday to catch the red-eye back to the West Coast to attend Book Expo America in Los Angeles. Okay, if you've never been, Book Expo America is a gigantic trade show where tens of thousands of those in the publishing industry gather to do business, attend parties, talk about books, attend more parties, take meetings, then more parties. I guess somewhere along the way Prince even did a concert at one of the shindigs. So what was my experience? I attended the Booksense Luncheon just after landing on Friday, which was a great deal of fun...especially since in attendance was my idol Ray Bradbury. Then on Saturday, I signed a slew of copies of The Last Oracle, did a podcast, and shot a video about the book (all I will say about that is that it involved stuffed animals).
 Oh, and yes, there were parties. HarperCollins put on a grand gala on one of the backlots at the 20th Century Fox studios where a few stars where in attendance: Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Nealon, Marilu Henner, Mariel Hemingway, Cheech Marin, and the delightful Yeardly Smith (who is perhaps best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson. Meanwhile I spent a good portion of the event hanging out with the folks from HarperCollins Canada and managers from Indigo and Chapters (Hi Shannon and Naomi and Lisa!).
Otherwise, I spent the rest of the days at the trade show doing what most people were doing: gathering swag and galleys. I got a rubber chicken, brain, and shark. I ate free cookies and cupcakes. But I also found several books that I'm dying to read, including Ted Bell's Tsar and a debut novel about a woman searching for her lost friend in Papua New Guinea titled The White Mary. But I think the most intriguing galley I picked up had the best title. It's a cookbook titled Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States.
But I also met all sorts of friends and fellow authors. Here's proof.
That's Chris Moore on the left, the hilarious author of many of my favorite books, including Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, which is coming out in a deluxe edition with gilt-edged pages and a faux-leather cover. I was surprised to hear that his book is actually taught at seminaries. On the right is my good friend Susan Tunis (who is going to kill me for posting this picture....then again I did put her in my novel The Judas Strain and did awful things to her, so I'm doomed anyway).
Monday: As I stated at the beginning...safely back home with the dogs.
Jim
The Judas Strain debuts on Tuesday; also more on Indy!
The launch of the mass paperback edition of The Judas Strain is set for tomorrow. I think the cover is quite striking and looks even better in hand.
Since the publication of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, one of the questions that I've been fielding from the website is "how does the novel expand what's in the movie?" I've waited to answer that until after the opening weekend to avoid inadvertently giving away any spoilers. And even still, I want to answer that cautiously. So rather than going into great detail, I thought I'd make a partial list of some of the questions that get addressed and dramatized in the novel:
How did Indy get captured by the Russians?
What exactly happened to the Conquistadors?
How did Indy and Marion break-up all those years ago?
What is the backstory on Irina Spalko?
What exactly did the Russians do with the contents of that box from Area 51?
Plus there's a treasure trove of additional details, scenes, and insights in the novel. I hope you all enjoy the result!
all the best,
Jim R.
Indiana Jones Returns!
Just a fast update. I did an interview about the novelization process and my own experience in the project at Dreamworks studios. The interview was overseen by the wonderful and talented (and the owner of a very sweet Wheaten Terrier) Laurent Bouzereau, who by the way, is also the co-author of The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films. For any Indy fan, that book is a must-have!
As to the interview, I hope to have the video active on the site shortly, but until then, click here for a sneak peek at it:
Indiana Jones Returns!
Indiana Jones out today!
I had a great time writing this adventure, borrowing Indy's fedora and running around the globe in one of the most amazing adventures of Dr. Jones's life. I was also thrilled to be given a free hand to add additional scenes, expand others, and to delve deeper into the roots of the story. I hope you enjoy the result!
I've also listed below my tour schedule for this book, and I hope to see as many of you as possible out on the road.
By the way, The Judas Strain will be re-released in paperback in one week (just in time for the Indy tour). I'm really proud of that book and this summer's novel, The Last Oracle, which picks up just weeks after the events in The Judas Strain.
Lastly, on May 22nd, Random House will be unveiling an in-depth interview concerning the novelization of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (including movie clips).
In the meantime, here's the tour schedule:
**Tuesday, May 27 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN
Barnes & Noble
3225 W 69th Street
Edina, MN 55435
Time: 7:30pm
Reading, Talk & Signing
**Wednesday, May 28 – ATLANTA, GA
Wordsmiths Books
545 N McDonough
Decatur, GA 30030
Time: 7:00pm
Reading, Talk & Signing
**Thursday, May 29 – PITTSBURGH, PA
The Oaks Theater
310 Allegheny River Blvd
Oakmont, PA 15130
Time: 6:30-7:00pm
Movie introduction
Books sold by:
Mystery Lovers Bookshop
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