Last month I did a number of events to promote BUST. Ken Bruen was in town and we did readings around NY and one in Houston. We also did a fun radio interview on KUHF in Houston with Alison Young which you can listen to via the link below (it runs less than ten minutes).

http://www.kuhf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16382

I did  a signing of BUST at Book Expo in Washington DC--thanks to everyone who stopped by!!

We're thrilled that BUST is an IMBA (International Mystery Booksellers Association) Bestseller!....Bust is a bestseller at many mystery bookstores around the country, including the Black Orchid Mystery Bookshop in New York, Murder By the Book in Houston, the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, and it was the #1 mass market bestseller for May at Poisoned Pen in Arizona.

Now I've been gearing up for the St. Martin's Press, American publication date for Lights Out . I already have tour dates scheduled for September and early October in NYC, Madison, Houston, Arizona, San Mateo, and Los Angeles. I will be adding dates in DC and perhaps one or two other cities, so please check my tour  page for the lasted info. Also check out my Lights Out  page for the latest reviews from the U.K. and more info about the book. I'm thrilled to have new quotes for Lights Out from Elmore Leonard and Jeffery Deaver.

Meanwhile, I have completed my new novel (which will follow Lights Out, and is set to be published in the U.S. and U.K. sometime in 2007). I'm not revealing the name of the book yet (yeah, I'm superstitious that way) but I will shortly.

I 've also been working on the screenplay for Cold Caller. I turned in the first draft last week and the producers seem very pleased with it. It was a blast going back to my first novel, reworking it for film. I made a number of changes in the story, including adding another murder, and the story will be set in Sydney rather than New York. I think it all works really well.

Oh, and the rumor is true--Ken and I ARE doing another book for Hard Case Crime. A sequel to BUST which will probably be published in 2007.  We're bringing back TWO characters from BUST. One won't be a surprise; the other will.

I've seen a couple of cool DVDs recently. I finally saw Brokeback Mountain and enjoyed it very much. Quietly powerful, and great to see the breakout--really stand out--performance--from Michele Williams. Who would've thought in the Dawson Creek days that SHE would emerge as the big star? Also a great performance from Linda Cardellini of Freaks and Geeks fame. F&G was kind of like My So-Called Life--a hugely underrated show that got cancelled way too soon.

Also, on suggested of Ken Bruen, saw Wolf Creek. Man, that movie scared the crap out of me. It's gleefully violent and extremely well-filmed. It's hard not to compare the film to Chainsaw Massacre, though in some ways WC is even more impressive than Massacre, because it's so contained. In effect, there are only 4 characters in the film (at least about 90 percent of the screen time is focussed on these characters) yet the director, Greg McLean, manages to maintain high tension throughout, and there are surprising twists in the third act. There is also A SCENE in the film, toward the end, which will likely be discussed by horror fanatics for years to come. But this film is very, very disturbing.

Cheers!



5/21 Update

BUST by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr is No. 3 on Entertainment Weekly's "The Must List" in May 19 issue!

1.'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III'
2. 'WE SHALL OVERCOME...,' BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
3. 'BUST," by KEN BRUEN and JASON STARR


Read more at:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1193551_7||451056|0_0_,00.html


May 2006

Last week was "Edgar Week" here in New York, which means mystery writers, agents, and editors converge on Manhattan for many events, parties etc.  Prior the the Edgar Awards, the MWA conducts many events for fans, critics, and writers and Ken Bruen and I participated in a panel on writing teams in support of our new co-authored novel, BUST.  Other panelists included the Todds and the "Parishes." I had a great time on the panel and, going by what we heard afterward, other people seemed to enjoy it as well.

After the panel, Ken and I signed BUST at the Border's on Park Avenue. Ken and I are absolutely thrilled with the response BUST has been getting so far. We've gotten starred reviews in Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal, and a great review in Entertainment Weekly. I'm going to be posting all reviews shortly on the BUST page.

The Black Orchid bookshop held its annual pre-Edgars party and, depsite drizzly weather, the crowed spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of the store. It was great to see many firends there. Jim Born (you may know him as James O. Born) came up from Florida to surprise Reed Edgar Nominee Coleman (he has decided to do away with the middle name "Farrell"). Later, hung out with Jim Fusilli, Wallace Stroby, Allan Guthrie, Dave White, Jen Jordan,  Megan Abbott., Theresa Schwegel  (and now Edgar Award winner, Theresa Schwegel--major congrats, T!!) and many others.

Throughout May, I am going to be doing some more events for Bust, in New York, as well as a big "Noir Night 2" event in Houston (check out my tour page for all the details).

In the U.K., Lights Out, has had some excellent reviews in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent On Sunday, Bookends, etc, and St. Martin's is starting to gear up for the September publication in the U.S.  I already know I'll be going to Arizona and California (dates TBA) and also plan to visit a number of other cities, so please check back for details. All the latest info on Lights Out is herehere.

Writing wise I've been finishing up a new novel (which will follow Lights Out) and I've been working on the screenplay of my first novel Cold Caller, for Smoking Gun Films in Australia.  In May, I will be attending the Semana Negra crime festival in Spain in July. People (ie Denise Hamilton) have told me wonderful things about the festivall--I can 't wait.

More soon!

Cheers!






April 2006

I'm back from my U.K./Ireland tour for Lights Out. I started off in Bristol, at Left Coast Crime. It was great catching up with a lot of old friends, like Mike Stotter, Barry Eisler, Ali Karim, David Thompson, Steve Brewer, McKenna Jordan and many others, and had a chance to people I'd only met through email. One surprise: Charlie Williams is, like, really tall. I also caught wind of the tremendous buzz in the U.K. for newcomers such as Nick Stone, Stav Sherez, and Alex Barclay. Have their books here, can't wait to check them out.

I was on a few panels at Left Coast. M.J. Rose, Barry Eisler, and I did our marketing gig, and it was standing room only. I was on a "walking the mean streets" panel with Charlie Williams,  Ray Banks, and Allan Guthrie. They're all great panelists, and the audience was laughing a lot. On the last day, I was on a panel on movie adaptations, which I also moderated.

After Bristol, Denise Hamilton and I did a tour for Orion, including a couple of Mystery Women events. That's right folks, I'm a mystery women -- one of only four male members apparently. We did an event at Goldsboro books in London where I signed a lot of hardcovers of Lights Out, and then an event in Cambridge. Next stop was the "Crime in the City" festival in Glasgow, where I read from Lights Out. Then it was off to Belfast, where David Torrans from No Alibis was a terrific host (note to authors touring in UK/Ireland -- don't miss Belfast!). Dave showed us around, great town, and hit the pubs. I made a bet on an Irish jump race at a bookies and won -- now poor Dave thinks I actually win at the track. Then, at night, Denise and I did a great event at No Alibis -- thanks so much to everyone who came. In the morning, I signed a mountain of books and then it was off to Dublin, where we signed at Michael Gallagher's snazzy, well-stocked store.

All in all, a great trip. I'll post reviews for Lights Out as they come in. I'm thrilled that book already has gotten these kind words from  Paul Blezard of Oneword Radio:

'With "Lights Out" Jason Starr has raised the level of his game by yet another, seemingly impossible notch and created a chrome-shiny-cynical, cautionary tale of hard-head city dwellers, whacked out crack-heads and sports jocks. He is the closest thing you'll ever get to Tarantino in
text. Good doesn't begin to describe just how damn good he is.' 

My interview with Paul will be available by podcast. I'll post a link as soon as I have it. I think it's one of the best radio interviews I've done.

In the U.S., Lights Out will be published in September, 06 by St. Martin's Press. I already know I'll be making an appearance at Poisoned Pen in Arizona, with more appearances to follow. I have a cover for the U.S. edition (it's up now on the front page of this website).

In the meantime, U.S. readers can check out Bust, the novel I co-wrote with Ken Bruen. We're thrilled with the response it's been getting so far. It recently got a starred review in Publisher's Weekly and we've already sold rights to Italy and France. I'll be appearing with Ken Bruen on Edgar symposium panel for Bust on April, 26, then we'll sign at Border's around the corner. In July, Ken and I will be attending the Semana Negra festival in Spain.

Latest Great Read:
Mr. Paradise by Elmore Leonard. Wanted to read an entertaining book on a flight, and what better choice? It's as good as any Leonard novels, and as usual there's great characters, great dialogue, and a great plot. In other words, it's the whole package.

Till the next update!