Square Pegs

Dan Brown has been hard at work on his next novel (something or other about Freemasons and architecture and Washington — we’re sure it will be appropriately hyped at the right moment), but The DaVinci Code remains a strong seller. We still don’t understand this: doesn’t everyone in the world own at least one copy? As it turns out, Brown abandoned his keyboard for a night of fun with humans. Those who braved the Rhode Island night (we presume they’re rough, but haven’t actually been there) learned that Brown left something special out of his blockbuster. We won’t reveal his […]

It is our belief that only the author can decide whether or not a manuscript is ready to be submitted to his or her publisher. We’re also quite convinced that dead authors don’t make those decisions. As it turns out, Patrick O’Brian’s final work, unfinished, will be published soon — much to the dismay of his family. We don’t buy the argument that this is a big, fat kiss to O’Brian’s fans; we absolutely agree that publishing incomplete work in this manner dishonors the author. Fury over O’Brian book plan O’Brian Sails Again: Norton to Publish New Aubrey/Maturin Material

Since Hawaii’s not a possibility, we turn our attention to New Mexico. Mystery authors Aimee and David Thurlo are raffling off a chance for one lucky winner to a) have his or her name in two books (you read that right: two!); b) travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico; and, c) dine with the Thurlos. There will also be autographs involved. Proceeds go to charity. Fame Your Name Raffle Aimee and David Thurlo

It must be the super-strong coffee, but we couldn’t let this one pass. Name a book, go to Hawaii. Oops, that’s wrong. Name a book, be a character. We’d much rather go to Hawaii. Deadline May 31, 2004. See the website — they have lots of rules and stuff. The Carol Higgins Clark Hawaiian Adventure Sweepstakes

The Wall Street Journal did a story on women who write thrillers. We thought, “Wow, we’d be interested in reading that.” Then we remembered…you must subscribe to read content on the WSJ site (we’ve done this in the past, but decided to skip the exercise; plus, we thought we’d be sitting with a print copy this afternoon — our plans changed). However, we think the article (which PW helpfully synopsized for us) is worthwhile, and suggest thriller fans take advantage of the Journal’s free two-week trial offer. Apparently, women rule. But you knew that. Wall Street Journal Look Out, Clancy:

What is the saying? The truth is stranger than fiction? We generally find that to be true, but, then again, we’ve had some unusual experiences in our day. As has author Marian Keyes. While she says (yes, we believe her) that her new novel The Other Side of the Story isn’t truly autobiographical, early reviews indicate it’s a spot on satire of the publishing industry. In other words, a ripping yarn filled with insider tidbits, that sort of thing. PW interviews Keyes and does a quick comparison of Keyes’s adventures to those of her heroine. The nice thing about fiction

We spent a little extra time in line at the grocery store today — somehow the customer in front of us made it out of the store without paying. We weren’t clear on the details. Our time was spent looking at the new issue of Newsweek. As it turns out, America’s bestselling author is not Carson McCuller — the honor goes to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, co-authors of the bestselling “Left Behind” series. We’re not sure how this series flew under our radar for so long, but that’s another issue: the article also explains how a short person

We’re not much for demanding unbridled trust — we’ve been known to stretch the truth when it suits our purpose. But due to the Los Angeles Times’s insistence on keeping content under lock and key, we worry our faithful readers will miss out on a gem from Sunday’s edition. So please take our word for it — don’t worry that you’ve been denied something incredible. You haven’t. Don’t get us wrong: we adore good satire. Heck, we even enjoy mediocre satire, and will laugh at really bad jokes because our sense of humor is warped. Generally we even like Mary

We are diligently purchasing the pieces of the new Neal Stephenson trilogy with full intent of reading the books back-to-back-to-back when all are available. But we’re sensing we won’t be able to wait. By all accounts, the books are fantastic (have we mentioned how much we enjoy Stephenson’s solution to his book-ending difficulties) — Quicksilver has walked away with the Arthur C. Clarke Award. As with all awards, great merriment and pageantry accompanied the presentation of awards. We’re also posting an old link to a story about a wiki for Quicksilver — for the Stephenson obsessed (we know who you