Newsletter - June 2007
Summer Sizzles with Good Reads
Summer is a great time for relaxing and reading. Whether you're heading to the beach or the back yard, there's plenty for Dean Koontz fans to enjoy. THE GOOD GUY is now in stores and THE HUSBAND is out in paperback. Both are New York Times bestsellers and are packed with non-stop suspense. In this edition of the newsletter Dean tells us why he wrote THE GOOD GUY, Trixie fills us in on her summer plans, and WATCHERS is the featured re-release. But wait! There's more. Test your Dean Koontz trivia skills with the trivia quiz, and don't forget to check out the Author Q & A feature.
The Joy of WATCHERS
If I am fortunate enough to live to such an advanced age that my wardrobe consists entirely of bathrobes, loose jumpsuits, bunny slippers, and adult diapers, and if I am also fortunate enough to be writing novels in that twilight of my life, I know that I can expect to receive mail from readers that says, in essence, "I love your new book, but that story you wrote when you were just a puppy, Watchers, is still the best thing you've ever done." I'll be at a book signing--accompanied by a nurse and by an attendant holding an ear trumpet, hooked to an IV drip feeding me liquefied nachos, wearing a lavishly embroidered jumpsuit more dazzling than anything Elvis ever wore in his Las Vegas period--and as readers greet me and receive their inscribed copies of my latest effort, a significant percentage of them will ask me to write a sequel to Watchers. I will smile, promise to think about it, try not to drool, and explain that I don't believe in writing a sequel to a book unless I can be sure it will be at least the equal of the original.Want more? Click Here to continue reading...
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Trixie's Summer To-Do List!
By Trixie Koontz, Dog
- 1) Sun.
- 2) Swim.
- 3) Sausage.
- 4) Smell the roses.
- 5) Sneeze.
- 6) Snooze.
- 7) Sniff, snort.
- 8) Quilting classes.
- 9) Bite Donald Trump's ankles-if he has bathed.
- 10) Continue with my nuclear fusion experiments.
- 11) Lay claim to eight square miles around house with pee markers.
- 12) Save fur from morning combings until have huge mass. Then pretend to cough it up, give neighbor's cat hair-ball inferiority complex.
- 13) Read Old Yeller, have good cry.
For more Trixie summer fun, Click Here
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WATCHERS Re-Released
From a top secret government laboratory come two genetically altered life forms...
One is a magnificent dog of astonishing intelligence.
The other, a hybrid monster of a brutally violent nature.
Both are on the loose...
Bestselling author Dean Koontz presents his most terrifying, dramatic and moving novel: The explosive story of a man and a woman, caught in a relentless storm of mankind's darkest creation...
To read more about WATCHERS, Click Here
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The Quizmaster!
1) What year was WATCHERS published?
2) What are the names of Einstein's children?
3) What amazing ability did The Outsider develop before its death?
4) Which of Dean's characters is soon to star in a graphic novel?
5) Which cartoon characters are Einstein and The Outsider obsessed with?
6) What new novel by Dean, also featuring a dog, is slated for release this Fall 2007?
See answers below
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Why I wrote THE GOOD GUY
So they asked me to tell you why I wrote The Good Guy, which is not as easy to explain as, say, why the last car I bought was a Ford.
I wanted to write a story with a runaway-train pace, involving mistaken identity. In the first chapter, the lead, Timothy Carrier, is in fact twice mistaken for the wrong man, putting him in such a harrowing situation that, I hope, the reader is firmly hooked.
In this case, the story hook might more correctly be called the seed. Usually, a writer grows his plot from such a seed. Because I don't outline, I instead concentrate on a swift pace and on growing a character who charms and intrigues me.
By the end of chapter one, I need to have affection for the lead if I'm to let him (or her) take me on a journey. Once the character comes alive, he goes places that I never would have imagined in a sterile plot outline.
From characters grow themes and subtext. I'm not interested in a novel that is about nothing but story. The characters, by their actions and beliefs, because of strengths and weaknesses, soon reveal to me what the novel is about under the surface.
One of the themes of The Good Guy is that the quality of a person's character inevitably shapes his destiny even if he would prefer to retreat from that destiny and lead an eventless life. As Timothy Carrier, says: "Things have a way of happening that force you to be what you are."
To emphasize this truth, I did not use traditional methods of character revelation, no back stories in narration or in dialogue until late in the text. All the characters have secrets. My hope was that readers would warm to the characters based solely on their actions and reactions, and become so delighted with them that the succinct back stories, when they came, would have emotional power.
This is also a book about our ability-or inability-to know evil when we see it, and about how we can be distracted from genuine threats by false fears. This is a book about the importance of living every day as though it is the most important day of your life. As Albert Camus said: "I shall tell you a great secret, my friend. Do not wait for the last judgment, it takes place every day."
That is why I began to write The Good Guy. After two chapters, I continued to write because the twists and turns, the surprises, the love story, and the comic moments kept me entertained. I have a low boredom threshold, and I have been known to throw away a half-completed novel manuscript if it doesn't grip me. I sob a lot, but I throw it away. 
Want more GOOD GUY?
Click Here to read more about the book!
Click Here to see the winning trailers from Dean's GOOD GUY trailer contest!
Click Here to see the new GOOD GUY TV commercial!
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Never Loan Your Mother-in-Law A Book!
One of the best things about a question and answer column is that you can never predict the variety and voracity of curious readers. What follows are more questions from fans that I hope you will find interesting. — Dean Koontz
Question:
Sometimes I lend my books to my mother-in-law, and she doesn't return them. I ask nicely when I visit her, but she always seems to forget my request. Can you make her return my books? — Anita, Buffalo
Answer:
If I had your mom-in-law's address and phone number, I would start gently, diplomatically, with "reminder" calls at 1:00 a.m. and every hour thereafter until dawn. If you didn't have your books back by breakfast, I would politely explain that I intended to break her knees. If you didn't have the books back by lunch, I would arrive on your mom-in-law's front porch, ring the doorbell, and break her knees with a Louisville slugger when she opened the door. For convenience, let's call your mom-in-law Anastasia. If someone other than Anastasia answered the door, I would, of course, be courteous to that person, quietly explain the reason for my call, and request the pleasure of a visit with Anastasia, for the purpose of breaking her knees. If the person answering the door--for convenience, let's call him Burt--refused to summon the book-thieving lady, you might imagine that I would break his knees, but you would be so very wrong. Burt has done nothing to me and has not misappropriated your books. I am not a violent man, only one who cherishes justice. With the Louisville slugger, I would rap Burt on the top of the head just precisely hard enough to render him unconscious for nine and a half minutes, hereafter I would once more ring the doorbell. If Anastasia did not respond, I would step over Burt, into the foyer, and call out, "Yoohoo, is anyone home?"
Perhaps Anastasia keeps a pet parrot. For convenience, let's call the parrot Mr. Feathers. In answer to my neighborly "Yoohoo," Mr. Feathers might be expected to disgorge a shocking stream of four-letter words learned in his youth when he was the pet of a pirate. Alternately, he might request a few crackers or express his fondness for crackers, or he might inform me that Anastasia has gone to the supermarket to purchase crackers. With Anastasia at the market, I would discreetly search the house, locate your books, and retrieve them for you. In the course of the search, it's likely that I would notice that Anastasia's housekeeping does not in every regard meet my high standards. This is not to say that your mom-in-law lives in a sty; I am sure that anyone with a name as pedigreed as Anastasia must have some grace and an abiding appreciation for cleanliness. It's just that my standards are of the highest order. Consequently, I would sit at her kitchen table, assuming that it was not filthy with toast crumbs and smears of butter, to write her a friendly detailed note regarding only the most grotesque examples of filth that I have observed, complete with a cleaning regimen to ensure that the odious squalor and festering slime do not eventually prove to be the breeding ground of an epidemic that might sweep the nation, killing millions. When she discovers this helpful program to make of her a cleaner person, Anastasia will be unspeakably grateful. No doubt, before I have finished composing this valuable guide to a less squalid lifestyle, Burt will have regained consciousness and, following the excited directions of Mr. Feathers, will have stumbled into the kitchen to confront me, as men named Burt are wont to do. Perhaps he will slip on a viscous gob of grape jelly that Anastasia has failed to clean from the floor, and will slam headfirst into the refrigerator, knocking himself unconscious, sparing me the unpleasant task of thumping him again with the baseball bat. Once I have located a small firm pillow and have figured out a way to plump it under Burt's head without touching either his greasy hair or his grime-encrusted skin, I will finish writing my helpful cleaning guide for dear Anastasia, who might never have meant to keep the borrowed books, but might simply have misplaced them in the clutching swamp of trash that has overwhelmed her home. Having departed the house with your books, I will have them--and myself--irradiated to kill the legions of dangerous bacteria acquired in that pestilential domicile. Thereupon, I will be ready to return your books to you, Anita. For that, I will need your full address.
Question:
Over the years you have been in my bed every night. I have pushed your books on other people and even on strangers I meet in the toilet-paper aisle at the grocery store. The one I recommend most is BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. Is there any way you could bring back Shep and Dylan from that book? — Joanne, who failed to provide even the most general geographical location, not even the name of her continent or planet
Answer:
Joanne, forgive me, but I would prefer that you push my books in the cereal aisle or the canned-meat aisle. Your activities in the toilet-paper aisle explain why so many readers tell me that they discovered my books and Charmin on the same day. As for a sequel to BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON: Many readers make this request, but with Odd Thomas ongoing, the third Chris Snow still waiting, and the third Frankenstein still underway, I don't foresee committing to yet another series at this time. For more Q&A Click Here!
And to learn more about Dean's life and work, Click Here!
You can submit your own questions to:dean@deankoontz.com
or:
Dean Koontz
PO Box 9529
Newport Beach, California 92658
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Trivia Answers!
1) 1987
2) Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Huey, Dewey, and Louie
3) The ability to speak
4) Odd Thomas. Read more here!
5) Disney cartoon characters
6) THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR
