On 10/14/07, hardcasecrime <
editor@hardcasecrime.com> wrote:
>
> Someone might optionThe Colorado Kid as a television
series? People
> will buy anything with Stephen King's name on it.
That was, by far, the most
> disappointing Hard Case title. Can't blame you for
publishing it, because if
> Stephen King scribbles something on a napkin and
drops it on the floor of a
> bar bathroom its destined to sell a ton of copies,
but the book lacked any
> sort of action. It was all talk and no action. If I
remember correctly the
> main characters were never in any sort of danger. I
mean, a weekly series
> where the main character is a reporter for a weekly
newspaper isn't exactly
> sexy. That was my first job out of college and,
trust me, its not exactly
> packed with drama.
>
That said, I think Peter Pavia's Dutch Uncle,
which is one HC title you don't hear mentioned much, would
make a great movie.
Yes -- the first of the Aleas novels, LITTLE GIRL LOST, is
in
> development as a feature...but there's an enormous
gulf between "in
> development" and "in theaters near you," so who
knows whether it'll
> ever wind up getting made. As for other Hard Case
titles, I believe
> Jason and Ken have optioned BUST; SAY IT WITH
BULLETS is at the
> screenplay stage; I believe THE LAST QUARRY is being
filmed as we
> speak (albeit at a pretty low budget); and DEADLY
BELOVED has been
> optioned to become a TV movie on the Oxygen Network.
THE GUTTER AND
> THE GRAVE has also been optioned, and THE COLORADO
KID has a chance
> of being the basis for a network TV series.
Meanwhile I talk with
> one producer or another about one of our books or
another at least
> once a week.
>
> All of which is great -- but until the first of
these projects
> actually hits a screen, large or small, I won't
really believe it's
> happening.
>
> Would it give sales of our books a boost if one of
these films got
> made? Maybe in a very small way; it would probably
briefly boost the
> sales of that particular title, if the movie were a
success, and
> maybe some people who bought that book would enjoy
it enough that
> they'd be impelled to hunt down others in the
series. But I wouldn't
> bet on a major, lasting, or series-wide
effect.
>
> Now, if we could get a TV series on the air called
"Hard Case Crime,"
> I do expect that would have a major impact on our
sales --
> when "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was revived on NBC,
sales of Alfred
> Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine hit an all-time peak
that was more than
> 5 times what their sales are now. But getting such a
series on the
> air is not an easy thing to accomplish. (That
doesn't stop me from
> trying, though...)
>
> > Anyway, I sure appreciate what you're
doing.
> > I've reviewed a few HC's on my blog, with
more
> > to come, and make a point of spreading
my
> > purchases around to different retailers,
in
> > the hopes that they'll all continue to
carry
> > them.
>
> And I sure appreciate what you're doing! You're
really going above
> and beyond the call to help us out, and that means a
lot to me, and I
> thank you for it.
>
> That said, I didn't mean to make anyone feel bad for
us -- we're
> doing fine. Not rolling in dough, but surviving, and
these days that
> counts as success. I just wanted to explain, to the
best of my
> ability, why $2 paperbacks are unlikely ever to come
back again.
>
> --Charles
>
>
>
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