Hey, everyone. Hope y'all have a great week. Esri Rose was nice enough to let me contribute to her blog on the RWA Golden Heart Contest. My post goes up tomorrow, and I'll check a few times for questions throughout the day. The link is:

Speaking of blogs, I posted my first "blog rant" Monday night entitled O-boy!. I'll answer your comments all week. Next post, next Monday on www.welcometomyworlds.com . Remember, I express my thoughts and don't pull any punches. All comments are welcome. My views do NOT have any bearing on my role in the literary world.

Welcome to My World is now Welcome to My Worlds. Why the change in titles? Being bipolar, I often live in two worlds; since I'm a writer and a literary agent, I'm in two worlds; but most importantly, the Web URL "welcometomyworld.com" wasn't available. Since I need a site name that matches the title of my humorous narrative nonfiction book, Welcome to My Worlds: A Bipolar Christian Tells All, I racked my brain to add a letter or number that would make sense. I believe I succeeded. My brain is now off the rack and securely ensconced in my skull. For now.

By now it's almost de rigueur for books-especially thrillers and suspense novels-to have their own book trailers. But novelist Clyde Ford has gone beyond the formula, creating a 20-minute film about his novel Precious Cargo narrated by actors including Morgan Freeman, and developing a new software system that allows readers to virtually visit locales in the book using Microsoft's Virtual Earth.

Precious Cargo, which went on sale Sept. 9, is Ford's fifth novel, and his first with Vanguard (he'd previously been published by Midnight Ink, an imprint of Llewellyn Publications; and the now-defunct MV Books). It features a character from Ford's earlier books, a PI whose friends discover the body of an unidentified young woman impaled on the flukes of their boat anchor on Puget Sound, in Washington State. Ford said he was drawn to Vanguard because its "innovative collaborative relationship with [its] authors let me have a place at the table for important decisions about the production and promotion and marketing of the book."

Ford wrote the video's script and produced the video, which was filmed and directed on location on both coasts, with Maroon Media Productions in New York, and Hand Crank Films in Washington. Ford was able to secure Freeman to narrate some of the video because he had met him when the actor and his wife invited Ford to give a private reading at a literary salon held at their home in Mississippi. Other actors who lent their voices include Ruby Dee and Roscoe Orman.

But the most unusual part of Precious Cargo's multimedia add-ons is OnScene, which lets viewers virtually visit locales in the book. Ford, who has more than 40 years of experience in software design, developed software called OnScene, that allows readers to "fly-in" to places mentioned in the book using Microsoft's Virtual Earth or Google Earth, partly in response to readers telling Ford that his earlier books set in the Pacific Northwest made them want to visit the area. It took Ford about a year to develop the OnScene application. Once viewers are at a location, they can listen to Ford reading from the book, watch clips from the book video set at that location, view live webcam footage if available, and learn more about the history and geography of the place. For instance, readers can see satellite images of Bellingham Bay and many of the islands in the area. "It's a multimedia experience that reinforces the 'sense of place' that is so important for me in these books," Ford said.

Forbes has updated their annual guesses on the earnings of the most successful authors. This year's list, covering June 1, 2007 to June 1, 2008, estimates the top 10 authors "pulled in a combined $563 million." Forbes

1. J.K. Rowling, $300 million
2. James Patterson, $50 million
3. Stephen King, $45 million
4. Tom Clancy, $35 million
5. Danielle Steel, $30 million
6. John Grisham, $25 million
6. Dean Koontz, $25 million
8. Ken Follett, $20 million
9. Janet Evanovich, $17 million
10. Nicholas Sparks, $16 million

[Glad there ain't no glass ceiling in the literary world-at least for authors.]

Dracula Lives!

With big deals in the US, UK and Canada, the Guardian looks at the making of Dacre Stoker's sequel DRACULA: The Un-Dead, written with Ian Holt. The book "draws on excised characters, existing character back-stories and plot threads that were cut from Stoker's original novel, first published 111 years ago."

It was Holt who persuaded Stoker to pursue the book. "Growing up, all the Stokers in my generation were pretty blasé about the fact we were related to this great horror writer." But Stoker became energized. He says: "Our intent is to give both Bram and Dracula back their dignity. Maybe even more important is to give the novel's legions of loyal fans what they have been waiting over a century for [Ah, I think those original fans are dead, or un-dead?]...the return of the real Dracula." [Will the real Count Dracula please stand up. Well, guess we haven't sucked the life out of vampire stories yet...]
[Guardian]

Page to Screen: A Vampire Hunter and a Teenage Angel

Bill Contardi has just closed on a film deal for Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson Books with 50 Canon Entertainment. The trilogy, which is published by Ace Books and launched three years ago with Moon Called, follows a vampire-hunter who has the ability to shapeshift into a coyote. The titles grew from cult hits into Times bestsellers and, according to Contardi, there are now 250,000 copies in print. 50 Canon, the production outfit of director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), has optioned the series and will lay out escalating purchase prices, in the "mid six figures" per Contardi, for each title if and when the option is exercised. (Contardi also confirms that Ace Books has contracted for four more Mercy Thompson books and that the first comic book adaptation of the series is due out from Dabel Brother late this month.)

'Fireproof' Soars Past $12 Million

Faith-based movie "Fireproof" hung in the box office top ten this past weekend, raking in $3.99 million across 852 locations. Over the past two weeks, the pro-marriage flick has pulled in $12.4 million, according to final figures released Monday by Media By Numbers LLC.

"Facing the Giants," the last movie produced by Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., had grossed nearly $10.2 million after about four months.

"The only way that this could happen is if after we prayed, God really answered those prayers," Director Alex Kendrick told the New York Times when asked to offer an explanation for the success of "Fireproof" and movie-based book "The Love Dare."

With a budget five times larger than that for "Facing the Giants," "Fireproof" debuted two weeks ago at No. 4 with $6.5 million in ticket sales, marking the year's second highest grossing opening weekend return of any film released on 1,000 screens or less.

The movie, which stars actor Kirk Cameron, tells the inspiring story of a firefighter and his struggle to save his faltering marriage from ending with his newfound faith and with the help of the "Love Dare," a 40-day spiritual guide that utilizes Scripture to reveal what true love is.

"[I]f Fireproof continues the same pattern as Facing the Giants - a 17-week theatrical run in which it ultimately earned $10.2 million, almost eight times its first-weekend profits - then Fireproof would be on track to earn more than $54 million," observed Mark Moring, editor of Christianity Today Movies. "And since Fireproof is a significantly better movie than Facing the Giants, we don't see any reason why it wouldn't continue that momentum."

Earning $54 million "would be astounding for an indie film made primarily by church volunteers for just $500,000," he added.

This coming weekend, "Fireproof" is expected to add 300 new theaters to its list of showings, pushing the film past 1,000 screens.

The film has drawn the support of several national groups including Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday. Influential figures such as marriage expert Gary Smalley and Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A have also worked to spread word of the movie. [In case y'all didn't know, Kirk Cameron wouldn't kiss his co-star. In the movie, he's actually kissing his wife, who "stood in." What a guy!]

My gal pals over at Romance Writers United have put out their first newsletter. I'm happy to report next month I'll be doing a column called, "Ask an Agent." Each month, I'll take three questions writers feel an agent can answer, and answer them. Sign up for the newsletter at: http://rwunited.freehostia.com

UNDERDOG PRESS needs your support to publish great work that needs a home. Please visit us at www.underdogpress.com today and pre-order Sheryl Brennan's Celtic Sacrifice in Trade Paperback. She's close to the mark of 125 books ordered via presale. Help this single mom out and get a great read in the process.

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