Going Rouge

Clever. Going Rouge is being released the same day as Sarah Palin's Going Rogue. I know which one I won't be reading.

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Aunt Barbara for Dollar Store Pasta

• Aunt Barbara on Facebook

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Jolene Sugarbaker's Experiment

More Jolene Sugarbaker:

• Jolene on Youtube
• Jolene on Facebook
• Jolene on Twitter
• Jolene's Trailer Park
  

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Leslie and the LY's

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Columbine by Dave Cullen

I recently finished the audiobook version of Dave Cullen's Columbine, a set-the-record-straight report of the 1999 Colorado school massacre, and the two young men behind it. It's a riveting account, detailing the planning, the attack, and the aftermath, debunking many of the myths that still pervade more than ten years later. Perhaps most chilling is the scope of the attack Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had hoped to unleash. I'm not sure if I was struck more by the missed opportunities others had to possibly thwart what happened at Columbine, or how things could have been considerably worse.

This is something I would definitely recommend, especially the audio version; narrator Don Leslie did a first-rate job of reading Dave Cullen's book.

ALSO: The author answers lots of readers' questions about the book (you may wish to wait until after you've read it), and has some interesting things to say about being a writer as well.

Another interesting note -- this book was to be featured during a full hour of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which was scheduled to air on the tenth anniversary of Columbine. Unfortunately, Winfrey opted not to broadcast it after review, feeling the episode focused too much on the killers.

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The end of Benjamin Justice?

Last summer I read the first book - Simple Justice - in the Benjamin Justice mystery series, written by John Morgan Wilson. I began to read the subsequent titles, and enjoyed the series more with each installment. The protagonist is a gay former crime reporter for whom a career-ending scandal (think James Frey or Jayson Blair) has brought him to rock bottom. The journey Justice takes to redeem his life occurs over the course of Wilson's eight novels.

Earlier this year, I finished the latest: Spider Season. While the book was very good, the novel's ending made me feel Wilson was wrapping up the story of Benjamin Justice. I had previously discovered John Morgan Wilson is one of many "mid-level" authors whose diminishing sales (in large part, because of used book purchases via Internet book stores like Amazon.com, for which the author and publisher receive no compensation) mean a series contract is not renewed, so the air of closure to this book made me curious if this had happened.

Recently, I searched for news of a possible ninth installment in the series, and went straight to the writer with my questions. Here is (in part) what I wrote:

[I] just wanted to send you a note to let you know how much I enjoyed the Benjamin Justice series. Is there a new B.J. mystery in the works? I have read a couple of items online about uncertainties with your publisher and how sales have eroded, in part, because folks are selling used copies of your works on sites like Amazon. After reading about that, the conclusion of Spider Season seemed to have a note of finality to it. I hope that isn't the case.

In any event, best to you in whatever future writing projects you pursue.

John Morgan Wilson was kind enough to reply, and I hope he won't mind my posting his response here:

Michael...

Thanks for the encouragement and support. Alas, my publisher has not renewed my contract for more books in the Justice series, so it is probably at an end. The chain bookstores will no longer carry authors whose sales figures have fallen below a certain level and with Internet used book sales cannibalizing our credited sales, it's difficult to keep our legit sales up. Yes, I wrote Spider Season with this in mind, and hope it brings a sense of peace and closure to the Benjamin Justice saga.

Thanks again, John

While this confirmation disheartens me, I'll try to remain hopeful that another publisher will see an opportunity here, and keep this series alive.

Visit John Morgan Wilson's official website and learn more about the Benjamin Justice mysteries.

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Rosie O'Donnell: Life After "The View"

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