Harrison Ford - photo by Steven Spielberg
ZombelinaManuscript is due in a couple of weeks. I foresee no problems with that.
This is quick, even by my standards, though not close to my record, which was and will always be the novelization of The Mask. Of course, novelizing a movie is easier, since you have a script and what you mostly have to do is expand on that, and put in stuff the movie doesn't show you. They were in a huge hurry for that one, and I was younger, able to sit and crank longer hours on the keyboard, and the book was shorter, only about 75,000 words. But still -- eighteen working days. My personal best. I don't expect to ever approach that kind of speed for a novel again:
Once was an experiment. Twice would be a heart-attack ...
For those of you who haven't gone to see what the official announcement says over at StarWars.com, here it is:
"There's no rest for the weary treasure hunter, but that's how Indiana Jones likes it. Fresh from spying for the Allies in the thick of World War II Germany, the globe-trotting archaeologist doesn't need much persuading to join his cohort "Mac" McHale in searching for one of the most coveted of artifacts: the fabled black pearl known as the Heart of Darkness. But the partners in adventure are not alone on their foray into the mysterious jungles of Haiti. German and Japanese agents are in hot pursuit, determined to possess the ebony artifact -- and its secrets -- for their own sinister purposes. And shadowing them all is an infamous voodoo priest, with powers of both diabolical science and black magic at his command.
On a treacherous odyssey across the Island of the Dead, where the legend of zombi looms large, spiders, snakes, and booby-traps will prove the least of Indy's challenges. And capturing the prize will be child's play compared with confronting an enemy unlike any other, whose numbers are legion and nearly impossible to kill -- because they're already dead ..."
Sounds like an E-ticket ride, doesn't it?
P.S. And a thanks here to Bobbe Edmonds, my personal zombie expert, for his help. I owe you a beer, Kid.
7 comments:
It was an honor, thanks for asking me.
you know, you posted something a short while ago about how shared-world novels are only to pay the bills, etc. I think there's an opportunity there to write some great stuff. I enjoyed your Netforce books, thought they were very well written.
Thanks. Thought I don't think I ever said tie-ins were "only" to pay the bills. I give them all my best, though sometimes I either can't or haven't been allowed to write them as well as they should have been.
With a couple of exceptions, I am proud of them all.
(And those, few people have seen -- the Dime Novels debacle ...)
I thought the Net Force books worked pretty well, overall.
Which Netforce books did you write, exactly? Been a while since I've read any of them. I know the ones that talk about bukti are yours, but I think I've read a couple that didn't.
Actually, I had a hand in writing all ten of the Net Force books -- at least the adult versions. (There were some YA's).
They started with Bukti, but progressed to Sera. You can get an overview of the characters and plots here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetForce
Eventually, the focus of the books evolved and the silat characters retired and were replaced. The last couple did have a kendo guy, and one who was into western fencing.
On a semi-tangent (related to a meandering thought about the Brush Vipers) have you ever read The Hot Zone by Preston?
That right there is the sickest, most repugnant book ever. Nothing comes remotely close to its vileness. Stephen King of allI've ever read, hands down people called it the most horrifying thing he'd ever read, hands down. Recently I listened to the whole thing on audiobook, on my ipod. While eating. That right there was a challenge.
"Monet suddenly vomited black blood into Dr. Musoke's face. It went into his eyes and mouth." Meanwhile I am eating a nice bowl of chili.
Nope, haven't read that one. Suspect I won't -- gore for gore's sake is boring.
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