(blogs.thetimes.co.za, Nov. 26)

Forbes Magazine has released its list of the world’s highest paid authors. In a year when financial returns are a great source of consternation, some writers have still managed to rake in the cash. Top of the list is unsurprisingly J.K Rowling who managed to make $300 million over the course of the year. The Harry Potter franchise has generated $4.5 billion dollars since Rowling published the first of the stories dealing with young Harry and his magical exploits in 1998 catapulting the author from an existence as a single mother on welfare to the billionaire status in just ten years.

Second on the list is the ever productive James Patterson who made $50 million dollars this year. Patterson churns out his novels at the rate of at least two a year and has already sold more than 150 million books worldwide.

Third place goes to the king of horror Stephen King with $45 million made this year. The one time school teacher has published over 40 books and sold more than 350 million copies since the publication of Carrie in 1974.

Fourth place belongs to Tom Clancy, king of the political thriller and creator of Jack Ryan star of novels such as Patriot Games, The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger. Last year Clancy sold videogame rights to Ubisoft for an estimated $100 million.

And finally in fifth place is the queen of the romance novel Danielle Steel who earned $30 million this year. Steel’s books (more than 70 titles) have been published in 47 countries and 28 languages and she also has an Elizabeth Arden perfume and a San Francisco art gallery on her resume.

Nicholas Sparks, Janet Evanovich, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Ken Follett round up the list for this year.

(independentweekly.com, Jan 6, Michael Sneyd)

The title itself suggests that Dean Koontz may be reverting farther back into his romantic styled writing for this novel. Knowing that it’s a release of the horror/thriller genre spooked me to think that this book may fall short of my expectations. Fear not for Koontz fans as this story echoes the traits of his former works. He always has a love story in the subtext, and in this case it is evidently strong. The scare factors on the other hand are a little cliche, leaving Koontz to incorporate risky measures of Edgar Alan Poe’s imagery upon the texts darkness.

Poe’s imagery actually holds suitable weight, and is delivered with just enough grace to stop me from perceiving it as mere cheating or theft. The (more…)

(expressindia.com, Jan. 7)

January releases will have detective-fiction lovers jump for joy

How many times in the Conan Doyle mysteries does Sherlock Holmes say, “Elementary, my dear Watson”? If you’re a true-blue, detective-fiction lover, you’ll know that Holmes never ever uttered this line, which over the years, has been built up by popular imagination. And if you don’t believe us, feast on the mystery titles, including Doyle’s, that are being re-released into the market this month.

January will see the start of Chills and Thrills, a month-long promotion of detective fiction by HarperCollins India. Other publishing houses are not (more…)

(Publisher’s Weekly, Dec. 15)

Koontz notes in an Amazon.com interview that the idea for Your Heart Belongs to Me came during a phone conversaton with a friend.  “Story ideas have come to me from lines in songs, froma scrap of overheard conversation, from just about everywhere.  And sometimes a story pops into my head, and I have no idea what the source of it was.  Thank God this keeps happening; otherwise I might have to learn an honest trade like plumbing.”  Your Heart reports Bantam, had an 800,000-copy first printing. (See signed Dean Koontz titles at www.vjbooks.com )

(www.bworldonline.com, Dec. 23, Dennis Posadas)

The traditional book industry is in a quandary these days. In this time of home foreclosures, industry and job layoffs, factory shutdowns, etc., the last priority on some people’s minds is to buy a book. This is why Random House decided to release a video (and I urge you to look at it) urging everyone to consider giving a book as a present this Christmas and for most gift giving occasions. See the video entitled Books Make Great Gifts at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OXs7tnP5eQ.

In the video, authors like Elmo, Barbara Walters, Martha Stewart, Jon Stewart, Chris Paolini, Frank McCourt, Maya Angelou, Alec Baldwin, Dean Koontz, Mary Higgins Clark, Bill O’Reilly, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, Julie (more…)

(Publisher’s Weekly, Dec. 8 )
In an interview on Amazon.com, Dean Koontz talks about how he researches his bestsellers, “I never go on-line. My writing schedule and other obligations keep me busy 18/7. The other six hours, I sleep . . I do most of my research from books and publications, and by conducting interviews with specialists . . As a student, I hated research and libraries. I always shamelessly made up the facts in my reports and cited nonexistent books by nonexistent writers in my footnotes. . . I’ve been surprised to find that I greatly enjoy doing research. I think the difference is – in school, they told me what i had to learn, and I bristled at authority; when I chose the subject, I proved to be an industrious autodidact.”

See an extensive selection of signed Dean Koontz titles at www.vjbooks.com

(Comiclist, Nov. 6 2008)

Dabel Brothers Publishing announced today the acquisition of an original story by Dean Koontz which they will develop in comic book and graphic novel form. Dean Koontz’s Nevermore, written by Keith Champagne based on an outline by Koontz and illustrated by Andy Smith, will be published in five comic-book issues between February and June 2009. (more…)

(Publisher’s Weekly, Nov. 3)

“Dean Koontz has sold 375 million books worldwide, and his fan base continues to grow. When The Darkest Evening of the Year was published in hardcover in 2007, it was his fastest bestselling book to date, and spent nine weeks on the Publisher’s Weekly hardcover list.  In a starred review, we called the novel “the perfect book for thriller addicts.’”