James Patterson joins Amazon's million club

Amazon announced that James Patterson has sold over 1 million Kindle ebooks (1,005,803 to be exact). He is only the second author to reach this mark, making him the second member of the “Kindle Million Club,” which recognizes authors whose books have sold over 1 million copies in the Kindle Store. This only includes paid Kindle sales, not free downloads.Stieg Larsson, author of the Millennium Trilogy, was the first author to hit the 1 million mark. Larsson’s three books—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest—are among the top ten bestselling Kindle

There are many different ways to catalog Patterson’s staggering success. Here are just a few: Since 2006, one out of every 17 novels bought in the United States was written by James Patterson. He is listed in the latest edition of “Guinness World Records,” published last fall, as the author with the most New York Times best sellers, 45, but that number is already out of date: he now has 51 — 35 of which went to No. 1.
Patterson and his publisher, Little, Brown & Co., a division of the Hachette Book Group, have an unconventional relationship. In addition to his two editors, Patterson has three full-time Hachette employees (plus assistants) devoted exclusively to him: a so-called brand manager who shepherds Patterson’s adult books through the production process, a marketing director for his young-adult titles and a sales manager for all his books. Despite this support staff and his prodigious output, Patterson is intimately involved in the publication of his books. A former ad executive — Patterson ran J. Walter Thompson’s North American branch before becoming a full-time writer in 1996 — he handles all of his own advertising and closely monitors just about every other step of the publication process, from the design of his jackets to the timing of his books’ release to their placement in stores.

CLINT THE THIRD

Proving that there's still a market for comic books for mature readers, the third issue of Clint Magazine is on sale now.

On the features front this issue leads with a look at Quentin Tarantino in which Steve O'Brain wonders what's next for the ultra hip director. There's also an interesting article looking at actors who were sacked from roles in movies that went onto to be massive hits -Eric Stoltz from Back to the Future to name but one, there's also an interview with Russel T Davies and a new section entitled, Badass cinema looks at none other than Clint Eastwood. And any magazine that features Clint Eastwood is going to find favour with the Tainted Archive.

The strips are all present and correct - Jonathan Woss's Turf about prohibition era vampires is proving a great read, as is American Jesus. Kick Ass 2 and Rex Royd. By far my favourite strip is Mark Miller's excellent Nemesis. This story was first printed in the US but here it is reproduced in a larger format which really benefits  Steve McNiven's amazing artwork - the full page panels are suitable for framing.

Clint makes comics cool again - all the mayhem and humour that made 2000AD a classic title back in the day is ramped up several knotches. In fact I think Clint is a better title than the present day 2000AD which, in my opinion, has lost its way. Clint is certainly fresher and the stories, being longer, have much more room to breath. The mixture of classic US reprints and all new material, as well as feature articles,  is just about right and gives a great reading experience.

Clint, as they say in comic book circles, rocks!

MORE CRIME DRAMA - YOU CAN BANK ON IT

ITV have announced that after the ratings success of their adaptation of Peter Robinson's Aftermath, they are to produce further dramas based on the D C I Banks books.

Due to begin filming in the spring of 2011, the six episodes will have three stories told over two episodes of which are adapted from the novels of Peter Robinson; Playing with Fire, Friend of the Devil and Cold as the Grave.

DCI Banks: Aftermath attracted a healthy audience, with 6.7 million viewers tuning in for the first episode and 6.9 million viewers for the second part. Laura Mackie, ITV Director of Drama Commissioning said “DCI Banks launched really strongly and already feels like a great new addition to our roster of crime dramas. We're looking forward to bringing a full series to ITV1 next year."

Francis Hopkinson, Executive Producer has said he is sure viewers are looking forward to the new series. "We're delighted that so many people enjoyed Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks and with three more brilliant novels to work from I'm certain that viewers will look forward to returning to Yorkshire in 2011."

Writer Peter Robinson said that he hopes to make DCI Banks a staple of prime time for ITV. "I was thrilled to hear that the DCI Banks pilot was a great success and that Left Bank Pictures and ITV are going ahead with a series of three more adaptations of my novels. You can only do so much in one two hour adaptation of one novel, so I hope this will give everyone a chance to build on the success they have already had and make DCI Banks a staple of prime time ITV series for years to come."


The Archive says: That together with Mark Billingham's Thorne, Banks may become television's next superstar coppers. Move over Morse and Frost the new guys are in town.

Thorne Sleepyhead

I've just watched all three episodes of Sky 1's adaptation of Mark Billingham's, Sleepyhead. I'd been eager to see this, having followed Mark Billingham's crime series since the first Tom Thorne novel. Indeed along with Peter Robinson's Banks series (which is also coming to TV) the Thorne books are among my favourite crime series. I'd recorded all three episodes to my Sky+ box and this evening sat down to watch them back to back.

What initially attracted me to the Thorne books was that they promised crime in the harder edged American style with a British setting. Thankfully the makers of the television series seem to have realised this and the show is shot in the fast style of the best American TV Thrillers. British crime dramas tend to be slower paced but this one starts out at maximum speed and doesn't let up until the climax. And all without forsaking any of the all important characterisation.

Thorne as played by David Morrissey is a tortured soul who is forced to face his own dark past when the trail for a present day serial killer leads back to something Thorne would prefer to forget -there's another neat stylistic touch when the characters are thinking back to the past and we see the present day characters while the past is played out around them in diffused colours. These are the kind of touches you'd expect to find in shows like CSI and not British crime dramas.

Aiden Gillen is also superb as the gay coroner Phil Henricks who also happens to be Thorne's best friend. Hendricks is a complex character who straddles two worlds and the actor brings alive the various facets of his character with blistering reality. And the rest of the supporting cast are also excellent in their roles and will no doubt be developed as more stories are filmed.

Apparently Thorne is a six part series, with the first three episodes being the debut novel, Sleepyhead while the second Thorne book Scardey Cat is to follow. On the strength of these first three episodes I would say Sky have a hit on their hands. In fact the only thing missing from Thorne is a punchy theme tune that could help define the series.

Mark Billingham must be chuffed at this version of his bestselling book.

MACCA GETS STONED

It's an enticing prospect - a song written by Keith Richards and Paul McCartney, a Beatle and a Stone composing together, but it's out there somewhere, as revealed in Keith Richards autobiography - The collaboration happened in 2006, when the two superstars met up by chance while both were on vacation at Parrot Cay on the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Richards did not elaborate in the book on what the song sounded like, and it is unknown if the writing session was recorded or if the song was even finished.
However, if the song ended up being completed, there would be the matter of recording it and possibly releasing it. And that’s where things get complicated, because although members of the Beatles and Stones have worked together in the past, members of the Beatles and the Stones have never before written any songs together.
It goes without saying, the McCartney/Richards song would be hot property, with record companies.

Your number's up

It's been the longest period ever between updates on The Archive but then I've been busier than the complaints department at Microsoft this last week - what with location filming, my editing duties for Solstice Westerns and my own work I've not had a chance to sit down at the keyboard. Indeed today is the first time I've been home since Monday but rest assured there's some goodies coming your way on the Archive this weekend.

Did I tell you all about my new story 614 over on A Twist of Noir - the challenge was to write something in a limited amount of words and the editor, Christoper Grant allocated me the grand total of 614. I fixated on that number and came up with a piece of exactly that length and with exactly that title. Here's what the editor said of the story.

 "I love that this story, it's works on so many different levels. It's noir, it's bleak, it's science fiction, it's based in reality with MK-Ultra, it's a call to arms, it's a swipe at every politician walking the planet (every last one, including the Tea Baggers here in the States, who are simply looking for that cloak of power to get their agenda across while pretending to be all about the people).It's dripping with excellence."

Anyway if you haven't read it nip over there and sample this slice of paranoia. And remember, as someone once said, just because you're paranoid don't meant they're not after you.

And be back here later for more of the usual Archivities.

614

The challenge was to write a story in a certain number of words- I was given 614. That's brevity taken to the extreme. I came up with a story titled rather appropriately 614. Find the piece over on A Twist of Noir.