The CD album, "Songs That Spenser Taught Me," Sung by Daniel T. Parker, with a guest appearance by someone who sounds a little like Donald Duck, is now available on ITUNES.
Go to ITUNES, go to the store, and search by name or title or both. Hurry!
rbp
I'm back after a long delinquency. . . .
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have returned as well, in RESOLUTION, the second book in the "Appaloosa" trilogy, which is now out and available. The third entry, BRIMSTONE, will appear next year. . . My new young adult novel, THE BOXER AND THE SPY is also available for purchase . . . APPALOOSA, the movie (Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons, & Rene Zellweger -- directed by Harris) has finished shooting and progresses through the editing and post production process. I don't know yet when it will be released. . . The next Tom Selleck/Jesse Stone movie will be on CBS in the fall . . David Parker and the Bang Group will offer their all dance reinvention of Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" in dinner theater at Rialto restaurant at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge on July 8, 22 & 29. A splendid show, a gourmet meal. The show previously performed in NYC at Joe's Pub. For you medical fans, I had my right knee replaced in April, and am now the proud owner of two steel knees, no outmoded original equipment for me. . . The Daniel Parker CD, SONGS THAT SPENSER TAUGHT ME, is almost ready. I'll let you know. . . Joan and Pearl are both doing very well, and remain beautiful (each in her own way, of course).
rbp
I'm back, with a new right knee, to match the previously replaced left one. Both are titanium steel (in keeping with my body type), and I set of alarms in all airports. On the other hand I can walk good. "Resolution", The second in the Appaloosa Trilogy, will be out in the first week of June. I'll be in Texas to promote it (I'm not planning to visit Crawford, or hunt with Dick Chaney). My new YA novel, "The Boxer and the Spy" is out this month. The next Jesse Stone/Tom Selleck movie will be on CBS later this year. The feature film, Appaloosa, directed by Ed Harris, starring Harris, Viggo Mortenson, Rene Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons (also featuring the great Daniel T. Parker) is in post production, don't have a release date yet.David Parker and the Bang Group will be at Joe's Pub (Public Theater) in NYC on June 6 & 7. I'm about to start the next Jesse Stone novel(tentatively titled, The Next Jesse Stone Novel). And the beat goes on.
rbp
The question of spelling Spenser's name has arisen. I may be the only one who has never mis-spelled it. Spenser, with an S like the English poet (who probably also spelled it right, though they were less picky about spelling in the 16th century). . . . Several have raised a question about who this "Rose" is, to whom NOW & THEN was dedicated. That would be Rosie, Joan's miniature bull terrier, who died at age 14 this past March. She was the model for Sunny Randall's dog. There is a picture of Rose on the back cover of PERISH TWICE . . . It has been suggested that the back list of my books is not available. I believe this is wrong. In paperback, to my best knowledge, all the books are out there. Great Xmas gifts! . . . on the show biz front: APPALOOSA has, I believe, wrapped. Should be ready to go in spring. After that, when it does go is pretty much a marketing decision. If you haven't been paying attention, the cast includes Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Rene Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Lance Hendrickson, and, of course, the brilliant Daniel T. Parker. Harris directs. The new Jesse Stone movie, THIN ICE, with Tom Selleck doing his usual dandy job, is tentatively scheduled to air on CBS in February. If that changes I'll issue a blog alert. As for my day job, STRANGER IN PARADISE (Jesse Stone) goes on sale in February. My second YA novel, THE BOXER AND THE SPY appears in May, and RESOLUTION (the sequel to APPALOOSA) comes out in June. I'll be doing a week in Texas (strating June 2) to promote the book. Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Austen, I believe. . . . Boston is having a particularly good year, weather's good so far. In addition to having the best baseball team in the world, again, we also have, apparently, the best football team, and, incredibly, so far, the best basketball team. It also seems that we have become Hollywood east, or Toronto south, thanks in noticeable part to Dennis Lehane (whose success, of course, I deeply resent) . . . I'll be having my right knee replaced in April. I had my left knee replaced in 2004, and its working very well, so by the time y'all see me in Texas, you'll think I'm Fred Astaire. . . . And, of course, my annual endorsement of presidential candidates -- Except for John McCain, whom I admire but disagree with, I hope they all lose. . . . Happy Holidays.
rbp
Joan and I have returned from Hollywood. We visited Dan, dined with moguls, and were generally the talk of Tinsel Town. . . several moguls asked me if I was the wine guy. . . the fifth Jesse Stone Movie, an original called THIN EDGE, starring Tom Selleck again as Jesse Stone, is in post production (we Hollywood insiders refer to that simply as "post") and is expected to air in February. APPALOOSA is now shooting in Santa Fe. Jeremy Irons has joined the cast, and so has Daniel T. Parker. They shot the railroad train scene this week, I believe. The new Spenser, NOW & THEN will be published on October 23. Be sure to get yours (we Hollywood insiders refer to that as pleading). The CD, "Songs That Spenser Taught Me" is completed (though not yet available). Noted actor,Dan Parker sings classics from the American Songbook, joined harmonically on one track by his father, known fondly as the velvet rasp. I'll let you know when it's available. Despite the presence of the old groaner, it's a very good album. And noted choreographer David Parker brings his company (David Parker and the Bang Group) to Boston for a week at the Calderwood Pavilion, starting November 7. Details to follow . . . there's nothing wrong with nepotism as long as you keep it in the family.
Go Sox!!!!!
rbp
I am not, as you may have noticed, an assiduous blogger -- for which most of the world seems grateful. But it is time to catch up. I've been asked about major league baseball, steroids, and Barry Bonds. My answer is I don't know. His situation is yet to be legally resolved, and until it is, I'll simply observe that he is one of the best players in the history of the game. . . and if he did in fact enhance his natural talents in some chemical way, he certainly made more of it than anyone else did. . . . should there be an asterisk by his record? I am happy to say I don't have to decide that. . . . I share the view that DOUBLE PLAY should be a movie . . . I pitched it with a producing partner all over LA before it came out, and succeeded only in firming my resolve to give up show business. But, one never knows. . . . We do have Jesse Stone # 5 shooting in Nova Scotia. And Appaloosa begins principal photography in Santa Fe in a couple of weeks. . . I have little opinion on the quality of writing on TV, because I don't watch it. Basically I only watch ball games and an occasional movie on The Western Channel. I can say that Joe Buck is the best play by play guy in America, and that the combo of Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy who do the Sox games are the best pair in America. Remy is a damned legend around here. . . . As for the difference between TV and feature films, it is rooted in money (there's a surprise). To stay inside budget on a TV movie they often shoot in a maybe 19 or 20 days. A feature has more money and more time. . . you can afford better directors, better writers, you can frequently attract bigger stars: If Appaloosa were a TV movie, it is less likely that it would star Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson, and Rene Zellweger . . . or be directed by Harris. This is not always the case (e.g. Lonesome Dove), but it is often so. If a story is too long for a feature film, it might go to a mini series format on television. As was the initial plan for All Our Yesterdays. Which of course didn't work out. In either case, it often depends on who wants to do it. On the Jesse Stone movies, Tom Selleck initiated proceedings. On Appaloosa, Ed Harris did so. People write books on this subject, and even I, who know very few things, and have a small vocabulary, could go on for pages. But if you get the idea that it has to do with money and luck, than you know what I do. . . . remember that NOW AND THEN (Spenser) will be published on October 23. . . I will be speaking at the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University on October 24. . . . Daniel T. Parker was said to have stolen the show (Tempest) at the Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival this summer . . . David Parker and the Bang Group will be appearing at the Roberts Theater in the Calderwood Center in Boston on November 7 thru the 10th . . . talk to you soon (or pretty soon, maybe)
rbp
actually Pearl spent her summer BARKING out the front window.
sigh!
rbp
As you may know, Tom Selleck has been nominated for an Emmy Award this year for his role as Jesse Stone in the recent "Sea Change". No one deserves it more. Tom nails the character. "Appaloosa" is proceeding, and has now in preproduction. Should start to shoot in the fall. The newest Spenser, "Now & Then" will be out October 23, on which date, I will be speaking at Yale University(Egad!). For those of you in mid coast California, Daniel T. Parker is appearing all summer in repertory at The Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival. David Parker and the Bang Group have been in residence at Concord Academy Summer Stages for the month of July and, after a short time at home in New York, will be in Cleveland (actually, Akron, I think). I am here typing, and Joan is here, putting up with me. When she's not going for a run in the woods with her walker, Pearl The Wonder Dog has spent the summer out the front window. At this writing the Sox are 8 games up on the Yankees.
rbp
My "mission accomplished" announcement of my victory over Cyberspace appears to have been premature. . . . however, I won't cut and run, I'm staying the course. So here we go again. Several of you have remarked on the differences between the Jesse Stone films, and the Jesse Stone novels on which they are based. As I have said, the average script for a two hour TV movie is about 87 pages long. If it is based on a 300 page novel, there will, of necessity, be some cutting. Beyond that, it is two different kinds of story telling. In film, there is no need to say "she was wearing a black sweater and white pants." The camera shows you this. What might make a good scene in a book ("In the pitch black room, unable to see a thing, Jesse took out his gun and held it at his side"), might not work so well in a film. A lot of characters may enrich a book, but clutter a 90 minute film, and cost money (actor's salaries) to boot. And so forth. The next Jesse Stone (#5), THIN ICE, will start shooting in August. It is not based on any particular book. It is an original script. Tom Selleck will continue to star as Jesse Stone. Meanwhile my novel SPARE CHANGE (Sunny Randall) is out now. The next Spenser, NOW & THEN will be out October 23. I have recently completed a second western novel about Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. It is titled RESOLUTION, and should be out sometime next spring or summer. Meanwhile all the signs continue that Ed Harris will start to shoot APPALOOSA in the fall. And in case you didn't notice, or are in denial, the Red Sox are leading the American League East by 11 1/2 games, 12 games over the Yankees. One never knows, but so far so good.
rbp
Some time ago my attempts to post on my blog failed miserably and I was left, in blog terms, voiceless. After a fearsome struggle with my arch enemy, CYBERSPACE, the forces of good have triumphed over the forces of evil and here I am again. Just in time to remind you that Spare Change was published on June 5 and you should make every attempt to buy it. More later but I just wished to announce my triumphal re-arrival.
rbp
