The basic plots of fiction

February 26, 2015

Just down the road from me… literally.

With some 130million books in existence, it’s hard to fathom how the literary sphere’s wealth of storylines could be boiled down into just six different categories.

But a professor is now claiming that there are only half a dozen possible plots which any novel can follow.

Matthew Jockers, from the University of Nebraska, has used a high-tech computer system to analyse more than 40,000 novels in a bid to find out the pattern behind storylines.

…

Intensity by Dean Koontz and A Creed in Stone Creek, by Linda Lael Miller, were two examples of the ‘man on a hill’ format.

Read the full article @ The Daily Mail while I look for the full report which the article doesn’t link to.

What Koontz book is this?

February 19, 2015

Here’s a fun little exercise: what Koontz title is this? (Just translating the title into English won’t help.) Leave your answer in the comments.

Moonchasers and Other Stories

February 18, 2015

I’ve been setting up my home library recently which has allowed me to unbox a lot of books. In unboxing my Ed Gorman books I stumbled over this one which had not been stored with the rest of my Koontz books.

Ask Anna paperback release date

February 6, 2015

According to Amazon, Ask Anna will be out in paperback on 13 October 2015. No cover art yet.

Charnel House News re: The City & Saint Odd

February 1, 2015

THE CITY: The books have been in house for weeks, it is the slipcases we are waiting on. I can not co-ordinate the two for the same date as I use a finished book to size the slips. I have made blank dummys in the past to speed this process up with less than acceptable results. I am told another two weeks before they ship to me. The lettered edition has been shipped and is out of print.
SAINT ODD: Odd is going to the printer in February and publication is now scheduled for April. There are only six copies of lettered edition with this historic binding left for sale.
I am sorry for the delays and shuffling of dates but I think you know by now–Saint Odd being the forty-first book for Charnel House and the twenty-ninth book with Dean–that this is the only way I can keep the quality that Charnel House is known for in producing these fine editions by hand, and I can not rush the process without damage. It is more important that these editions are done right than out on time and I appreciate your patience all these years. That’s a lot of patience.
Thank you–Joe Stefko, Publisher

Source: Charnel House

Live Chat with Dean on 21 January 2015

January 22, 2015

What have you always been dying to ask Dean Koontz? The best-selling author answers your fan questions during a live global online video chat on Jan. 29 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET, sponsored by USA TODAY and INTERCAST.

Full details @ http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2015/01/21/dean-koontz-saint-odd-chat-odd-thomas/21437675/
Or, you can watch it here.
:USATodayKoontzChat:

Saint Odd' debuts at No. 1 on U.S. bestsellers list

January 22, 2015

(Reuters) – “Saint Odd,” the final book in Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series, shot straight to the top of the U.S. bestseller list on Thursday, pushing Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” into third place.
Data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors across the United States is used to compile the list.
Hardcover Fiction Last Week
1. “Saint Odd” by Dean Koontz
(Bantam, $28.00) –

Ask Anna 50% Off

January 18, 2015

Both of my local Barnes & Noble stores have copies of Ask Anna for 50% off on their post-holidays clearance table. If you’ve not picked up a copy yet, now is a great time to do so. For those of you without a local Barnes & Noble, it looks like Amazon is also currently offering is at the same half-off price.

New Wilderness audio on the way

January 17, 2015

Amazon is currently listing Wilderness: A Short Work Tie-In to Innocence on Audio CD available for pre-order with no release date listed. Of course, I’ll update here is information becomes available.

Les Passagers soundtrack

January 4, 2015

Not many people realize that there was a film version of Shattered. Titled Les Passegers, this French film was released back in 1977. Recently a CD was released by Music Box Records in a limited (yet unnumbered) run of just 500 copies. What makes this exceptionally interesting is that the CD contains both the soundtrack used in the released film by Claude Bolling, and an abandoned first score by Eric Demarsan.
You can still order copies from Screen Archives Entertainment and you can read a review of the disc @ AssignmentX.

Saint Odd limited editions update

January 2, 2015

According to the Charnel House Web site:

The numbered edition of SAINT ODD is now out of print.
There are a few lettered copies still available for sale.

Happy New Year

January 1, 2015

Big-time evil

December 30, 2014

The Stunning Conclusion

December 23, 2014

Odd time

December 18, 2014

One Month Left…

December 13, 2014

“John D. MacDonald, My Absurd Voice, and a Wonderful Dog named Rhu” by Dean Koontz

December 12, 2014

Dean’s published a new essay on his site “on writing and narrating introductions for the new John D. MacDonald audiobook collection.”

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a recording studio to read short introductions that I had done for the Audible audiobook versions of eight John D. MacDonald novels. The late John D was arguably the greatest author of popular fiction in the 20th century; and his work is better than most of what passes for “literary” fiction. If I had to name two novelist heroes, Dickens and John D would make that short list. Therefore, being asked to write those introductions and read them in front of a microphone was not a chore; it was an honor.

Read the full essay @ DeanKoontz.com.

Great deal on Frankenstein digital comics and a whole bunch more

December 12, 2014

Humble Bundle is once again be teaming with Dynamite Entertainment. This go-round Dynamite will be offering such titles as Bob’s Burgers, The Twilight Zone, and the Django/Zorro crossover co-authored by Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wagner. In addition, this bundle includes Mark Waid, Darick Robertson, Garth Ennis, Gail Simone, Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, J. Michael Straczynski, David Mack, Howard Chaykin, Bill Willingham, Sean Phillips, Tim Seeley,Chuck Dixon, Andy Diggle, Duane Swierczynski,Joshua Hale Fialkov and many more.
…
Fans who beat the average price will also receive 105 comics total with a combined value of over $380 including Living Corpse Omnibus, Doodle Jump #2, Dean Koontz: Frankenstein – Prodigal Son, Curse of the Wendigo, Monster War #1-4, Devilers #3-4,Twilight Zone #1-4, Uncanny #1, Alice Cooper #2, Mark Waid’s Green Hornet #4-6, Red Sonja Vol. 2, Pathfinder Vol. 2: Tooth and Claw, Kirby Genesis #0-8, Shaft #1, and Jim Butcher: Dresden War Cry #1-3.
…
The Humble Dynamite MEGA Holidays Bundle runs for two weeks and ends Wednesday, December 24, 2014 at 11 a.m. Pacific time.

Get all the details @ Bleeding Cool.

Dean Koontz News – December 9, 2014

December 11, 2014

New Odd Thomas e-novella out today

December 9, 2014

Odd Thomas: You Are Destined to be Together Forever is now available for download on most major eReader platforms.