It started as a book: 'Savages' by Don Winslow

This weekend Oliver Stone's "Savages" hits screens with a stylish amount of uber-violence and a star-filled lineup that includes John Travolta, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro and Salma Hayek. It'll certainly be something to watch.

Two years ago, it was something to read. Don Winslow's stylish, fast-paced SoCal noir follows the story of a territorial struggle between powerful Mexican drug interests and two American pot growers, whose mutual girlfriend gets kidnapped. Rescue efforts ensue.

When the book was published, the L.A. Times called it a "marvelous, adrenaline-juiced roller coaster of a novel." Our reviewer wrote, "Winslow buffs the surface to high gloss only to dirty things up pretty fast." One of the pot growers, Chon, "has always known that there are two worlds: The savage/the less savage."

At Grantland, John Lopez asked Winslow how he wrote the characters so well. "A lot of it’s just hanging around Laguna Beach and listening," Winslow says. "It’s funny sometimes — my editors from the East Coast don’t believe this. And I say, 'You know what, get on an airplane, I’ll pick you up at John Wayne Airport, and if I can’t take you to these people in 45 minutes, you win.'"

In the short time since the movie was announced, Winslow went back to the keyboard and returned to the characters in "Savages." That book, "The Kings of Cool," makes its debut on the L.A. Times bestseller list this Sunday. It's a prequel to "Savages."

“I wanted to tell an origins story," Winslow told KPCC's Madeleine Brand. "And I wanted to tell a story about families. When people are faced with a really hard choice between their biological families and their friends, sort of family that they’ve created on their own which is what happens in 'The Kings of Cool,' people have to choose. And that to me was a really attractive story."

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher: See Lee Child's antihero [video]

When Tom Cruise was cast as Jack Reacher, fans of the tough-guy character created by Lee Child cried foul. In books like "Killing Floor" and "The Hard Way," Reacher is a 6-foot-5-inch antihero, capable of bone-crushing violence. Cruise was not the Reacher readers had in mind. One Jacket Copy commenter wrote, "Tom Cruise could play Reacher's "mini-me" --- otherwise I can't think of anyone more poorly suited to do Reacher. Okay, Woody Allen, but Tom Cruise is #2 with a bullet."

Now that the first trailer is available online, readers can see for themselves: Can Tom Cruise be a convincing Jack Reacher? Or not?

The film was based on the Jack Reacher novel "One Shot," but that won't be its title when it is released this year. It'll be called -- wait for it -- "Jack Reacher."

When the deal was announced, Lee Child spoke to Deadline Hollywood. "Reacher's size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way," he said.

Kenneth Turan wrote about the Jack Reacher novel "Gone Tomorrow" in our pages.

One of the great conceits of the Reacher novels, however, is ... the tendency of the folks he deals with to consistently underestimate him. Unlike Sherlock Holmes or Paul Temple, Reacher is not known to the criminal world, and the bad guys are always telling him, "Stay away from this," "You're out of your depth" and the ever-popular "You got lucky." You want to scream at them, "This is Jack Reacher for pity's sake, he'll eat you for breakfast!" He will, you know, and that's why we keep coming back for more.

So far, readers have; Child has published 13 Jack Reacher novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies. Will fans be as enthusiastic about the film?

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Amazon buys rights to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels

Hold the phone! Amazon announced Tuesday that it has purchased the North American rights to Ian Fleming's James Bond books. James Bond, of course, is the debonair British superspy 007, whose bestselling books have become an iconic big-screen movie franchise. Under the agreement, Amazon will retain republication rights for 10 years,  to both the print books, which have sold 100 million copies worldwide, and the e-books, which have not. Yet.

The 14 Bond books that fall under the agreement are, in chronological order (American publication dates): "Casino Royale" (1953), "Live and Let Die" (1954), "Moonraker" (1955), "Diamonds Are Forever" (1956), "From Russia with Love" (1957), "Dr. No" (1958), "Goldfinger" (1959), "For your Eyes Only" (1960), "Thunderball" (1961), "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1962), "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1963), "You Only Live Twice" (1964), "The Man With The Golden Gun" (1965), and "Octopussy and the Living Daylights" (1966).

The films made from most of those titles have kept the James Bond tradition alive for new generations. After Fleming's death in 1964, his estate hired a number of other authors to write new Bond books. John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham) wrote additional books, which do not fall under the Amazon licensing agreement.

What Amazon will pick up, in addition to the 14 original Bond books, are two nonfiction books by Ian Fleming: travel essays collected in 1963's "Thrilling Cities and "The Diamond Smugglers" (1957), about, not surprisingly, diamond smugglers.

In the news release, Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., said, "We are excited to be using the opportunity of this re-license to introduce Ian Fleming's books to a broader audience in the USA, and we believe that Amazon Publishing has the ability to place the books back at the heart of the Bond brand, balancing traditional publishing routes with new technologies and new ways of reaching our readers."

Amazon will be at the center of the introduction of these Bond ebooks. The Wall Street Journal reports that to start, James Bond e-books will be exclusively available in Amazon's Kindle store. 

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photos: Left, Ian Fleming in 1962. Credit: Associated Press. Right, Sean Connery as James Bond in the film version of "From Russia With Love." Credit: MGM Home Entertainment

 

Will you see 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'? [poll]

Readers made "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" a star. The novel by Stieg Larsson was an international bestseller. So were its sequels, "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"; together, the three novels have become known as the Millennium Trilogy. Today, David Fincher's film version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" opens, starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig.

What do you think -- will you see it? Vote in our poll.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tatoo. Credit: Merrick Morton / Columbia Pictures / Sony / Associated Press.

Mulholland Books pulls 'Assassin of Secrets' over copied passages

Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown, has pulled its novel "Assassin of Secrets" after passages were found to be copied from other spy novels. The book was a first novel from Q.R. Markham. The paperback original was published Nov. 3.

In a statement, Michael Pietsch, executive vice president and publisher of Little, Brown and Co.,  said: "Upon investigation,  it was clear the passages in question were lifted, and Little, Brown determined that the only course of action was to immediately recall books from retailers across the country."

The passages in question, which were not shared with the press, were lifted from James Bond books by Ian Fleming and thrillers by Robert Ludlum and Christopher McCrary, the Associated Press reports.

In October, Markham wrote an essay for the Huffington Post titled, "9 Ways That Spy Novels Made Me a Better Bookseller." Markham wrote that he writes under a pen name and that he is co-owner of Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers in Brooklyn. In his essay, he wrote, "Once I'd gotten into the mindset of a Cold War-era superspy, it was hard to leave. I began to notice certain similarities between my day job and my night-time work. I found myself not only making decisions the way Chase would, but recognizing where the methodology came from, whether it be Ian Fleming's M., Le Carre's George Smiley, or Nicholas Hel's Go teacher." Markham's tumblr has also been taken down.

In the statement from Little, Brown, Pietch said, "We take great pride in the writers and books we publish and tremendous care in every aspect of our publishing process, so it is with deep regret that we have published a book that we can no longer stand behind. Our goal is to never have this happen, but when it does, it is important to us to communicate with and compensate readers and retailers as quickly as possible."

The company will give full credit to wholesalers who return the book, and it has asked consumers to seek refunds for the book from the retailer where they bought it.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

H&M wants you to dress like the girl with the dragon tattoo

Costume designer Trish Summerville, who created the outfits worn by the character Lisbeth Salander in the upcoming film adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," has created a new line based on that look for H&M. The 30-piece look is gothy and gritty; it's going to hit 175 stores worldwide Dec. 14, a week before the movie's release date.

In a video announcing the collection, H&M creative director Donald Schneider explained the motivation behind it. "We sat together and said, 'Why don't we do something? We are Swedish, this movie has a lot to do with Sweden, which is unusual for Hollywood."

Siteg Larsson was Swedish too. The author of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was a Swedish journalist who died after finishing two sequels to the popular thriller. Now known as the Millennium trilogy, it is a massive international bestseller.  His survivors, a longtime girlfriend and members of Larsson family, are in a dispute over his estate. Both parties have indicated that they may have materials written by Larsson for additional books starring Lisbeth Salander.

In the film, Salander is played by Rooney Mara, who recently appeared in "The Social Network." When W magazine ran a photo spread of Mara made over for her role as the fierce computer hacker, director David Fincher said, "Lisbeth is the goth Pippi [Longstocking]."

And come December, the streets can be filled with hundreds of others. Would Stieg Larsson have approved?

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Trish Summerville, third from left, and the H&M clothes based on her costume designs for the upcoming film adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Credit: H&M

Mysterious Galaxy Books opens in Redondo Beach today

If you're in Redondo Beach, step into Mysterious Galaxy Books, which threws its doors open for the first time Tuesday morning. Mysterious Galaxy, which focuses on the genres of mystery and science fiction and their nearby constellations, has been operating in San Diego since 1993; the Redondo Beach location is its second store.

While the bookstore promises a monthlong grand opening this fall, Tuesday is full of celebratory events, including food trucks in the parking lot and a signing at 7:30 p.m. by Denise Hamilton, author of the Eve Diamond series. Her new book is the surf noir "Damage Control."

"We gutted a building and completely 100% renovated it," owner Terry Louchheim Gilman said Tuesday. Located at 2810 Artesia Avenue, the new Mysterious Galaxy occupies about 4,000 square feet; a cafe is coming soon.

It's no timid undertaking in a climate that seems inhospitable to bookstores. Borders is in the process of closing the last of its hundreds of stores nationwide. On the store's blog, Gilman writes:

Almost every day people ask us how we can possibly open a bookstore in the current climate, with bookstores closing and eBooks catching on in such a big way. Our answer is that we think this is exactly the right time to open an independent bookstore. We think that people treasure their communities and especially bookstores, because they bring them together and introduce them to new reading experiences and the authors that write the books that they love.

Gilman had an inside track on the new location. The building was built by her grandfather and is still in  her family.

The grand opening starts Oct. 9 and lasts for weeks, featuring almost daily events with some big bestsellers. Orson Scott Card, Larry Block and Charlaine Harris, author of the popular Sooky Stackhouse novels, will all be signing books in Redondo Beach.

Apart from special events, Mysterious Galaxy Books is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It inherited those hours from the San Diego store -- if the Redondo Beach community clamors for something different, it plans to adjust accordingly.

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Free e-book: Richard Stark's 'The Score'

The University of Chicago Press thinks that once readers try Richard Stark, they'll come back for more. That's why the publisher, which reissued "The Score" in 2009, is giving away the e-book for free. It trusts that one Parker novel just won't be enough.

 "The Score" is the fifth novel featuring Parker, a "lean and mean anti-hero," Richard Rayner wrote in The Times. The first 20 Parker books have been reissued by the University of Chicago Press. This month, while "The Score" is free, the publisher's other Parker novels are 30% off with a special checkout code. 

Stark was one of the pseudonyms of Donald Westlake, an author so prolific that he published under several names. He wrote as Stark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt, Edwin West and Donald E. Westlake. He died in 2008 on New Year's Eve.

Rayner, who was a fan of the Parker novels, reviewed "The Score" in 2009.

"Knock over a city. A whole . . . city," thinks super thief Parker at the beginning of this crime novel. "It was stupid it might even work. But it would have to be planned right. This one would have to be planned right on down to the shoe leather." So Parker and his crew head off to a North Dakota town called Copper Canyon, where, of course, things very much don't go according to plan. Richard Stark, a.k.a. Donald Westlake (who, sadly, died a few months back -- but what a run!), wrote hardboiled stories that unfold with magical flair. Also reissued, in this superb continuing series from the University of Chicago, are "The Mourner" and "The Jugger."

In his introduction to the Parker series reissue, Luc Sante wrote, "You can read the entire series and not once have to invest in a bookmark." So, if you download the free e-book, be warned: Parker can be habit-forming.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Another self-publishing phenomenon goes traditional: John Locke

Self-published author John Locke has signed a deal with a traditional publisher. The print editions of John Locke Books will be sold and distributed by Simon & Schuster, the company announced Monday.

Locke was the first -- and so far, only -- self-published author to sell a million Kindle ebooks. He writes thrillers starring the character Donovan Creed, and has published a popular how-to book, "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!"

It appears from Simon & Schuster's announcement that Locke will retain control over his ebook publishing, while print editions of his books will be sold and distributed by Simon & Schuster. The company's vice president of client publisher services, Stephen Black, said in a statement:

“Not only does John Locke write terrific novels, he clearly knows his audience and has a deep understanding of how to reach them. We are very excited that we can now help to expand John’s readership to include those millions of readers who still savor the joys of sitting down for a few hours of entertainment with a traditional paperback book. It is a win-win for all concerned.”

In the statement, Locke added, "I applaud Simon & Schuster’s incredible vision, and their willingness to provide a vehicle that allows all readers traditional access to my books."

To date, Locke has published eight novels in his Donovan Creed series, including "Saving Rachel" and "The Love You Crave." The popularity of his books have put him in the Kindle million-seller club with well-known bestselling authors James Patterson, Lee Child, Nora Roberts, Michael Connelly, Suzanne Collins, Charlaine Harris, Janet Evanovich and Kathryn Stockett. He's seen several of his books reach Amazon's bestseller list at once.

Many of Locke's older ebook titles sell for 99 cents a download. While this makes them attractive to readers looking for a bargain, it will be hard to price hardcovers and paperbacks as enticingly. Whether his ebook success will translate to print sales is an open question.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

 

Photo: John Locke. Credit: Amazon.com

James Patterson: the $84-million author

James Patterson made $84 million in the last year, making him the world's best-paid author, according to a list released by Forbes magazine Wednesday.

Patterson is the author of the Alex Cross novels and dozens of other thrillers; he's so popular these days that he often has co-writers help produce his books. His most recent (unless another has been published since this blog post was begun) is June's "Now You See Her."

Forbes' list tallies author income from May 2010 to April 2011. Patterson's earnings are so high that they more than double the No. 2 author, romance queen Danielle Steel. Steel earned $35 million in the same period.

The rest of the top six authors earned between $20 million and $30 million. Horror-and-more novelist Stephen King comes in at No. 3 with $28 million, mystery writer Janet Evanovich is No. 4 with $22 million and tied close behind, with $21 million each, are "Twilight's" Stephenie Meyer and Rick Riordan, who writes (mostly) for younger readers.

Who's next? Dean Koontz with $19 million, John Grisham with $18 million, Jeff "Wimpy Kid" Kinney with $17 million, Nicholas Sparks with $16 million and Ken Follett with $14 million.

Suzanne Collins, author of the "Hunger Games" trilogy, is on the list with $10 million and can probably look forward to an appearance on the list next year, as the film adaptation of the second book has been greenlighted even before the first has made it to screens. The last of the top 10 is J.K. Rowling -- once the highest-earning author on the list, her movie dollars seemed to have trickled. That's OK. She hasn't yet let anyone buy a Harry Potter e-book -- which might just make for a new magical revenue stream.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: James Patterson. Credit: Reuters