Vol. 119 No. 003

     Happy October:

I’m sitting at my desk looking at my two-foot tall papier mache Halloween cats, one dressed in green, the other in orange with a pumpkin face.  The live pumpkin is waiting on the kitchen island for its 2008 design. I’m thinking I might carve an arching cat rather than a simple face. Hmm, we’ll see. Don’t forget: any candy left over from Halloween has no calories and it must be eaten. There is no choice. You must sacrifice yourself to the ‘untreated’ chocolate, with no guilt or sin involved. So make sure you have plenty on the hand – yeah, yeah -- for the kids (you don’t want to be known as the stingy one on the block) and it’s always a good idea to test some of the treats ahead of time too, you don’t want to serve up substandard goodies to innocent little children.

I’m doing rewrites on KnockOut or Stare Down (whatever the title will end up being), which means I had to put down the historical romance I started -– the two genres are so very disparate, and that makes it perfect for me, the writer, because nothing ever gets old and I don’t get burned out writing the same sort of genre over and over. So, I write a thriller then switch to a historical,  and I have a ball. When Stare Down goes in, I’ll be going back to the historical, tentatively titled The Gentleman Smuggler. It will be the 11th Sherbrooke novel, out probably the end of 2009. (2009?) How does time do
that?

The 49ers are sucking again, big sigh, so what’s a poor football junky to do? No Patriots, no Colts and excuse me – suddenly Chad Pennington has decided to make Miami a winner?

So, I’m going with Big Ben. I’ll tell you, the last Monday night game between the Steelers and the Jaguars was something else. Big Ben is a horse – you want to yell at him, “Throw the ball, you moron!” but then he busts around back there, people draping off him, pulling off his arms, and then he rears back and throws a twenty-five yard pass. Incredible. That was an amazing game. Go, Ben!

Happy October, Catherine Coulter

P.S. You can also consider not answering the door

August/September 2008

Vol. 47 Number 00

Happy Fall:

Yes, it’s September already, the summer’s only a memory, but there is one consolation – FOOTBALL! (Do I hear some whispers in cyberspace that my obsession with the pig skin is getting tedious? Never say so!)

  Okay, all I’ll say is -- it’s like Tiger Woods going down for a full year. Losing Tom Brady for an entire season hurts not only the Patriots but also the entire NFL, he’s that great a draw. I’m sure Matt Cassel is a nice guy, I’m sure he can do things okay, but let’s face it, he ain’t no Brady, and you know that the Colts dancing all over their fake grass, singing Hallelujahs.

No more football.

Let’s move on to Mercury in Retrograde. What is this, you may ask? This is when everything in your life screws up at once and there is no earthly reason for it –- computer files disappearing, Sheila, my car, not wanting to accept her key, the kitchen faucet belching out brown water, then deciding it doesn’t believe in any sort of positive water pressure, multiple family illness and death (not unexpected, all happening now), a frozen shoulder that did not respond to a steroid shot, and now I’ll stop. No more whining, but Mercury is in Retrograde – so if strange stuff is happening to you right now, this is the reason provided by my resident guru on the subject of a pissed-off universe.

  The guru also informed me a moment ago that although Mercury is currently two-stepping with both Venus and Mars Mercury is getting bored and will soon sashay away and that means things will lighten up. (I firmly believe Mercury is responsible for Tom Brady’s injury.)

I’ve finished Stare Down, the 13th FBI, out next June. Its title was KnockOut, but Stare Down really really fits the book, so we’ll see.

Happy September – Catherine Coulter

Felled by Food-Corky

August/September 2008

Vol. 47 Number 00

Happy Fall:

Yes, it’s September already, the summer’s only a memory, but there is one consolation – FOOTBALL! (Do I hear some whispers in cyberspace that my obsession with the pig skin is getting tedious? Never say so!)

  Okay, all I’ll say is -- it’s like Tiger Woods going down for a full year. Losing Tom Brady for an entire season hurts not only the Patriots but also the entire NFL, he’s that great a draw. I’m sure Matt Cassel is a nice guy, I’m sure he can do things okay, but let’s face it, he ain’t no Brady, and you know that the Colts dancing all over their fake grass, singing Hallelujahs.

No more football.

Let’s move on to Mercury in Retrograde. What is this, you may ask? This is when everything in your life screws up at once and there is no earthly reason for it –- computer files disappearing, Sheila, my car, not wanting to accept her key, the kitchen faucet belching out brown water, then deciding it doesn’t believe in any sort of positive water pressure, multiple family illness and death (not unexpected, all happening now), a frozen shoulder that did not respond to a steroid shot, and now I’ll stop. No more whining, but Mercury is in Retrograde – so if strange stuff is happening to you right now, this is the reason provided by my resident guru on the subject of a pissed-off universe.

  The guru also informed me a moment ago that although Mercury is currently two-stepping with both Venus and Mars Mercury is getting bored and will soon sashay away and that means things will lighten up. (I firmly believe Mercury is responsible for Tom Brady’s injury.)

I’ve finished Stare Down, the 13th FBI, out next June. Its title was KnockOut, but Stare Down really really fits the book, so we’ll see.

Happy September – Catherine Coulter

Vol. 3224

No. 46

Happy Middle of the Summer:

I live in Sausalito, California, right over the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather here is perfect as far as I’m concerned. However, people like Mark Twain had the gall to write “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” No one can agree with him now: get ready for this: this is the THIRD time since the end of May that we have had weather in the 90’s for more than 30 minutes. There’s very little air conditioning in the Bay Area because one only expects to use it approximately one week a year, during September -- Indian summer. Not this year. You have a wet washcloth over your eyes and forehead and sleep until the washcloth gets dry, then you move the cats, wet it down again, and head for another hour and a half.

I think this hot spell will be four-five days. Thankfully, being a female, I don’t sweat, but men, unfortunately have muddy pores, poor buggers.

TailSpin came in at #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List, and Double Take came in at NUMBER ONE!!!! Thanks to all of you who were virtuous and caring enough and thoughtful enough and didn’t waste precious time and went out and BOUGHT the books! Thank YOU.

If you haven’t procured one or both of these wild and woolly adventures then I predict something that involves very hot weather will descend upon you, and no wash cloths.

I’m writing KnockOut, the 13th FBI thriller. Can you believe that? 13. It’s coming out of my head at a fantastic clip which means it can be very very good or very very psychotic, which means quite a bit of tinkering if the latter happens. Maybe, just maybe, by finishing this book quickly I’m buying myself time to write  a historical romance –- So get ready for the gentleman smuggler who appeared in The Sherbrooke Twins. Who is he? you ask. What’s his name? you ask. I haven’t a clue, but he’s lurking.

Have a happy Bastille Day – Catherine Coulter

P. S. PRE-SEASON begins in 29 days

Popcorn Queen-Cleo

Vol. Perfect 10 Number 1

Happy Incredible June:

Not only do we have the longest day in the year, we have the beginning of summer and wild vacations, and THE PUBLICATION OF: TAILSPIN, the 12th FBI thriller staring Savich and Sherlock plus two new characters, Rachael Abbott and Jack Crowne. This one’s wild, scary, charming, and complex. I hope you’ll really really like the messes I’m getting you into. Do let me know. And Last but not Least, THE PUBLICATION OF: DOUBLE TAKE in paperback. Both out together, ready to take you to the mat on June 24th.

Okay, this is the last thing: THE PUBLICATION OF: DOUBLE JEOPARDY in trade paperback (which came out June 3), with both The Target and The Edge together.

I’m off for our annual family vacation in the Outer Banks on Saturday. If you’re standing on a beach somewhere, looking out to sea, think of me and know I’ll probably be doing the same thing.

I hope you like TAILSPIN. I expect to hear from you all. CC

I'll only come out for food!-Corky

Vol. 001 No. 100

To: All of you Who Cannot Accept that it is MAY Already:

The L.A. Times Book Festival went splendidly. I met a couple of really cool authors (James Sheehan and John Lescroart), a trendy New York latte liberal with a sense of humor, an insane bookseller who played Harry Potter audios non-stop, and had rosemary and thyme planted on his counter, Mamie Eisenhower’s ghost who, it was claimed, was floating over Dodd Hall, particularly during lunch time.

The Suspense Panel was lots of fun, and hopefully the audience was sincere when they laughed. I was under a tent signing books other hours during the day, and, thank you, God, I didn’t have to stand outside in a long line roasting in a brutal sun only L.A. can produce.

To those of you who COULD have come but didn’t, I bespeak foul deeds.

THE SHINER, the 13th FBI book, is coming along well, for the most part. This week, though, it kicked my butt, came to a screeching halt and pointed out to me that I’ve really screwed up the little girl’s explanation of what had happened in Bricker’s Holler, and the hero’s reaction was all wrong, etc. One good thing did happen: I’d been going back and forth on the defining character of Victor Nesser, 21, and vicious. It came to me that he shouldn’t murder this cop – and it worked. It changed Victor Nesser’s character in an elegant way – you the reader will come to the conclusion, I’m not telling you. And you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, do you? But you will.

We’re off to Yellowstone National Park this month with my sister and her husband. Then up to Montana – do you know there’s still snow expected up there, so I’m guessing I can probably leave the shorts at home…

Have a great May – Catherine Coulter

Sun Bathing-Cleo

March/April Newsletter 2008

Vol. 456 Number 990

Happy Spring:

The skiing was fabulous at Lake Tahoe in March. Unfortunately, it was non-existent in April since my husband put his back out -- huge bummer. We stayed a week in Tahoe City with a bunch of relatives, mostly skiers, a few snowboarders, and thanks be to any and all higher powers, no one got killed or maimed or too drunk. So much snow and gorgeous weather. But like football, it has to come to an end -- the snow has to melt, the ski runs have to turn to grass – philosophical huge bummer.

In March I made a long overdue visit to New York City to see my publisher and agent. Three of my best writer friends, The Toots (Linda Howard, Iris Johansen and Kay Hooper), came up as well so we all stayed together at the St. Regis. (Only four blocks from SAKs and right across the street from Henri Bendel.) We saw Legally Blonde and Wicked on Broadway, ate too much, and did power shopping to stimulate the economy. Everyone is well and we’ll all be getting together again in September at Linda’s mountain home in Tennessee.

The new FBI, tentatively titled The Shiner, is coming along fine. The Shiner does not refer to a black eye or to a bright red convertible; it refers to a little girl who can communicate psychically. And she’s seen something.

The 13th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held on the UCLA campus Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th of this month. It is a positively absolutely incredible event, tens of thousands of people wandering around in shorts and eating ice cream, tons of authors, and a virtual city of different publishing/bookstore booths. If you’re in the neighborhood, come by and have a blast – and say hello. I’ll be signing at the Mystery Bookstore booth Sunday morning from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., then on a suspense thriller panel Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and signing books right afterwards. You might think it’s a bit much to fly to L.A. from, say, Moscow, to see me, but hey, London isn’t all that far away – it seems reasonable to me.

For more info about the Festival go to: http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/

Just a reminder: TAILSPIN, the 12th FBI thriller, is out June 24th. Double Take in paperback is also out June 24th. Double Jeopardy (The Target and The Edge together) is out June 6th. To read an excerpt from TAILSPIN, visit my web site.

I hope all of you have brought your spring stuff out of storage and are studying your swimsuits with an optimistic eye.

Everyone take care,

Catherine Coulter

February Newsletter 2008

Vol 338 Number 228

Hello Post SuperBowlers:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I’ve been predicting the Patriots would win the SuperBowl. I really wanted the Patriots to win the SuperBowl, because a 19-0 season would be something never forgotten. But stuff happens -- and they came in at 18-1.

Hats off to Eli Manning and the Giants D, they kicked big butt. Being philosophical about it, I guess having two quarterback brothers win back-to-back SuperBowls made history as well, and yes, that was pretty cool.

When you get right down to it, the game was a win-win and the most exciting SuperBowl I’ve ever seen.  The SuperBowl was shown in 254 countries, and here in the U.S. it had the largest viewership since the final episode of MASH in the early ‘80’s.

I would particularly like to thank all of you who were so kind and thoughtful to send me speedy e-mails shouting “Too bad, too bad, gloat, gloat, neener, neener.”

I turned in TailSpin last Thursday.  This is the 12th FBI thriller, set in both Washington, D.C. and Parlow, Kentucky. It all begins with a drugged Rachael Abbott tied to a block of concrete and thrown into Black Rock Lake. As the title suggests, there’s a really cool plane crash as well.  I’ll post an excerpt in the next month.  TailSpin is out June 24th in hardcover. Double Take in paperback is also out June 24th.

Out June 7th is Double Jeopardy in trade paperback. This is The Target and The Edge together between two covers (Remember, The Beginning with The Cove and The Maze together.) So don’t get confused and think it’s a new FBI book.

We’re finally going skiing next week at Lake Tahoe. We’ve had tons of snow, like 130% of what’s expected. I’m rather hopeful that this year there will be no sacrificing any body parts on the slopes.

I missed the chance to wish all of you a Happy New Year – so I’m doing it now. HAPPY 2008!

Catherine Coulter

I am off the clock! - Cleo

Vol. 111 Number 111

Dear Merry Makers:

It’s December, my very favorite month of the year. All presents are mailed, I’ve made a good dent in my Christmas cards,  my house looks like a Christmas fairyland, TailSpin is roaring toward the finish and, let’s be frank about this – everything in my world is just fine.

Now, I have tidings of great joy:

On December 18th, the perfect stocking stuffer will be waiting there, for you!  It’s WIZARD’S DAUGHTER, an original paperback and the tenth book in the Sherbrooke series. Along with some of the Sherbrooke family, you’ll meet two really cool new characters, Rosalind and Nicholas, neither quite what they appear to be. In addition, we have Harry Potter/Middle Earth sorts of extreme woo woo intertwined with really cool suspense and romance. I hope you all enjoy it. Do let me know.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Try to behave, the big guy’s comin’ – Catherine Coulter

ZZZZZZZZZ...Snooze...Snooze... What dat? - Corky

Vol. 11 No. 88

Happy Thanksgiving:

Only it’s not Thanksgiving just yet. Tomorrow morning, very early, six of us will fly to St. Thomas, hop aboard a sailboat to sail around the British Virgin Islands for a week. Nothing to do but rot and read, I figure, and make sure my sunblock is going full blast, and maybe, just maybe, write a bit, who knows? I’ll be taking my AlphaSmart Neo, the best little indestructible word processor every made.



I can’t wait to see Virgin Gorda again and snorkel in from the boat to Caneel Bay. However, it must be said: we’re going to miss all Sunday football and Monday Night football. All right, all right, I know whining is unattractive.

We’ll be staying home for Thanksgiving and relatives are coming. This is a first, so keep your fingers crossed that the fowl and stuffing turns out yummy. Not to mention the turkey.

I am ready to admit to my pathology. My husband thinks it’s a rather sweet pathology – all right, I’ll spit it out. I’ve wrapped over 200 Christmas presents already. Why, you might wonder, would I fall prey to this particular pathology? Well, the fact is, I am constitutionally incapable of simply sitting on a sofa, eyeballs glued to the HDTV screen. Nope, I’ve got to be doing something. There are twelve hours of non-stop football on Sunday, and one certainly can’t miss Howie and Kurt. Oh, I forgot to mention that with satellite, you’ve got a 24-hour NFL station (be still my heart). So I’ve got Christmas in the bag. Thank God Christmas falls during football season – I can’t see wrapping that many presents at Easter or maybe sitting there painting eggs.

I don’t suppose you’re getting a bit fatigued by hearing so much about football? But wait, what else is there in life of any importance at all?

Also, just a very brief mention: The Colts and the Falcons will play Thanksgiving night!

Another brief mention: speaking of the Colts, that was indeed Superbowl 41 l/2 between them and the Patriots. Excellent game and all right, I’ll say it right out – I wanted the Patriots to win, just as I want to see them yet again in the Superbowl.

Happy Thanksgiving – Catherine Pigskin Coulter

P.S. None of the above it true. I really spend all my time critiquing T.S. Elliot, in French.

ZZZZZZZZZ...Snooze...Snooze... What dat? - Cleo

October 2007 Newsletter

Vol. 448 Number 222

Happy Halloween:

I just got back from Waynesboro, Virginia, having a blast at the BOOK’EM book festival, whose motto is “Buy A Book, Stop a Crook,” put on by the Waynesboro Police Department.

All proceeds go to the Book’Em Foundation whose main focus is teaching disadvantages kids to read with the belief that there will be less crime when these kids grow up. Having options is a wonderful thing. Attending this shindig was far more satisfying than simply writing a check to a literacy fund.

There were 70 authors there, all over the board in terms of what they wrote. I signed books in a huge gymnasium at the public high school, spoke in the big auditorium and served on a panel in the cafeteria.

I hope they raised buckets of money. I’m also hopeful that more big name authors will attend next time to draw bigger crowds.

I’m working right along on TailSpin , the 12th FBI thriller – this one is coming quickly and is fun. Savich and Sherlock are in this one to their necks. Wait’ll you meet Congresswoman Dolores McManus from Georgia who paid to have her trucker husband murdered at a rest stop near Atlanta.

What about those Patriots? I can’t wait until November 4th – now that’s really the Superbowl – The Colts vs. The Patriots.

Eat lots of candy on Halloween (don’t waste it all on the little goblins.)

Catherine Coulter

Sometimes Mom likes to be artsy. - Cleo

Vol. 299 No. 588

Every cat needs a special place in the sun. - Corky

Vol. 888 Number 29

Hi Guys:

DOUBLE TAKE is on its 5th bestseller week – it is #9 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Let’s hear it for six weeks. That would be good. I’ve begun TailSpin, the 12th FBI – it begins with a plane crash and, can you beat this – I just picked up Linda Howard’s new book Close Up and Dangerous and guess what? Yep, it’s about a plane crash. Is this whacko minds or what?

Anyone have a cool cover art idea for TailSpin, drop me a line at readmoi@gmail.com

Mark your calendars: July 28th – 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. I’ll be signing/talking at The Almost Perfect Bookstore in Roseville, California, near Sacramento.

1891 Douglas Blvd.

916-781-7935

August 11th & 12th –I’ll be at the Charlotte Literary Festival in North Carolina. For all the info please go to their website: www.charlotteliteraryfestival.com

If you can make either of these events, I would love to meet you.

Keep slathering on that sun screen. Have a great July – Catherine Coulter

Cat on a half-shell. - Cleo

Vol. 211 No. 960

Hello Everyone:

It’s June 21st, the longest day of the year. That means
hot-tubbing in the buff when it’s still light. Hmm. Does one wave to
the neighbors?

DOUBLE TAKE came in at #3 on the New York Times Bestseller list --– thank
you all very much. It’s a very tough list during the summer months.
However, my own sales were up 6,000 copies over the first week sales of POINT
BLANK. So, that’s something. We’ll see what happens next week.
Keep all digits crossed and you might consider going out and buying another
copy or two. Did you remember the gift for your mother-in-law?

I’ve begun TailSpin, the 12th FBI thriller. It feels strange writing
the next one when DOUBLE TAKE just came out.

We got back from the Outer Banks –- Duck, North Carolina –-
on Sunday. At high tide, there were 39 nine of us in two houses. Gasp.
Both families mixed well, at least three bridge tables going at any time
day and night. Each night, a different family cooked dinner –- all
different, all delicious. Saturday night was clean-up night – you would
not believe the amount of food consumed. There were 13 birthdays, which meant
that we paid the overhead for Tulio’s Bakery for that week. Oh my,
chocolate fantasy cake, key lime cheesecake, pecan pie, raspberry white chocolate
cheesecake, tiramisu, and the list goes on and on and on.


It was cool, in the eighties most days, so we weren’t ever parboiled.
However, June 14th was the coldest June 14th in Outer Banks recorded weather
history. The merchants were very very happy since everyone was out shopping.

When we got home, Cleo hid for an hour, then acted pissy for the
rest of the evening. Corky, however, had his mouth open and was more than
ready for edible contributions, which he got in return for instant love.

Happy summer solstice,

Catherine
Coulter