By JT Ellison

January 22, 2008 sees the release of the Killer Year anthology, KILLER YEAR: STORIES TO DIE FOR, edited by Killer Year mentor Lee Child, with essays by Laura Lippman and MJ Rose, original stories from Killer Year mentors Ken Bruen, Duane Swierczynski and Allison Brennan, plus introductions to each Killer Year member story by their ITW mentors. This compilation has earned rave trade reviews:

Library Journal: Well worth a look...

"Why writers who deal with the dark side of human nature are among the most collegial is a mystery in itself. What is not in doubt, though, is the quality of this collection resulting from that collegiality, with 13 of its 16 stories by writers who published their first novels in 2007 and were mentored by established authors under the auspices of the International Thriller Writers organization. Some of these stories--which, as editor Child notes, are 'far, far harder to write than novels'--push the edge of the genre and snag the memory, among them Marcus Sakey's exploration of love and the difference between wanting and needing in 'Gravity and Need.' Sean Chercover's Chicago P.I. Ray Dudgeon keeps a case from going south, Gregg Olsen gives a final twist to his tale of a true crime writer, and Jason Pinter shows how things can go inexorably wrong in an instant. The mentors' introductions to these stories, plus brief biographies at the end, should entice readers to longer works by these promising new authors. Even amid a recent rash of anthologies in the genre, this one is well worth a look."

"His name was Rambo, and he was just some nothing kid for all anybody knew, standing by the pump of a gasstation."
-Opening sentence of the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell

John Rambo, the legendary character created by ITW Co-Founder and Co-President David Morrell, is back on the big screen, filling movie theaters and earning a new generation of fans. But who exactly is Rambo? Google reveals more than 18,000,000 hits for him. The Oxford English Dictionary cites his name. Scores of scholarly articles have been written about him. President Reagan frequently referred to him in speeches. He is one of the most iconic and popular film characters of all time, but if you know him only from the movies, you’re in for a surprise.

Rambo is the brainchild of international bestselling author Morrell, who first penned the character in his award-winning 1972 novel, First Blood, published when Morrell was a young professor in the English department at the University of Iowa. Until First Blood’s publication, there had never been an action book of its kind. Morrell’s revolutionary novel paved the way for an entirely new action-fiction style of writing, and the Rambo character went on to become one of the most famous literary characters created in the 20th Century, ranking with Tarzan and James Bond.

The Canadian-born Morrell wrote First Blood at the height of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s, while studying for his PhD at Pennsylvania State University. He loosely based the character John Rambo on Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier from World War Two, who had extreme difficulties adjusting to peace time. The name alludes to the Season in Hell verse of the French poet, Rimbaud, (sometimes pronounced “Rambo”) but is also oddly indebted to the name of a Pennsylvania apple that Morrell’s wife drew his attention to while shopping at a road-side stand.

ITW member JoMarie Grinkiewicz just received "the call" for a contract deal with Five Star for book two in the Wanderlust Mystery series, THE LAST RESORT. Written under the pseudonym April Star, her debut novel and first of the series TROPICAL WARNINGS (a 2006 release from Five Star) has gained popularity among mystery fans, RV enthusiasts, and the RV industry.
 
In 1992, shortly after hurricane Andrew devastated the Homestead, Florida area, JoMarie and her husband, Jerry rolled their thirty-two foot Avion travel trailer into a camping resort (which, at the time, appeared to be more of a MASH unit). In an attempt to keep her sanity, she took a job in the office where she soon discovered INSANITY bred! A year later JoMarie became assistant manager and marketing director and in 1996 Jerry joined her in the office as they agreed upon the offer of campground managers. There they stayed and there is where the REAL stories and characters emerged for what is now a reality--the Wanderlust Mystery Series.
 
JoMarie lives in Sebring, Florida and again working at an RV resort.  She is also an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Sisters In Crime. and the American College of Forensics Examiners International.  Stop by and see what reviewers are saying about the Wanderlust Mystery series at www.authoraprilstar.com

As we all know the internet has a mind of its own. Yesterday the mind inside this site decided to tell everyone it could about something we'd been working on for a few weeks: our new membership directory. Sorry if that caused some confusion - we weren't expecting it either, honest.

ITW member Patry's Francis's debut THE LIAR'S DIARY came out in hardcover from Dutton last spring. The trade paper release is set for January 29th, but a few weeks ago, Patry was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She's had several surgeries, and her prognosis is good, but given that she won't have much energy for promoting, ITW Debut Author members Laura Benedict and Karen Dionne, along with Susan Henderson and Jessica Keener, have banded together to do it for her.

'THE LIAR'S DIARY Blog Day' is going to be held January 29th. Folks who wish to participate are asked to mention Patry's book on their blog that day and link to her website (www.patryfrancis.com) and the book's purchase page on Amazon.

Brilliance Audio has put together a special audio clip with excerpts from Patry's novel, and Circle of Seven Productions is producing a promotional video especially for bloggers.

New York, New York, January 9, 2008: In order to forge stronger relations with the film and television community, InkWell Management, a leading New York literary agency, has hired former Paramount executive Patricia Burke as Director of Dramatic Rights.

Prior to joining InkWell, Ms. Burke was Paramount's Vice President of Literary Affairs where she established and ran the studio's New York office. While at the studio, she was associated with numerous films that were adapted from books, including most recently, The Kite Runner and Into The Wild. Before working for Paramount, she was Director of Literary Affairs for Jaffe/Lansing Productions, where she was involved in developing such hits as Fatal Attraction, The Accused, and The First Wives Club.

It's won the 'audioboook of the year' award from January Magazine, and selected as one of the top titles of 2007 by AudioFile. Editor Jim Fusilli goes behind the scenes of the unique audio project that captured the imaginations of thriller listeners this year.

If I may say so, I knew "The Chopin Manuscript" was going to be a success from the moment I heard about the project. Not that I knew our "serial thriller" would win awards, but I knew it would work as a story when M.J. Rose told me Jeff Deaver would be writing the first chapter, thus establishing a savvy, reader-friendly template for us to follow. Sure enough, his opening was so strong that I asked M.J. if we were being fair to Jeff by requesting he donate it to us. "He's given us one of his best sellers," I told her.

I had the fairly naïve notion that anyone I called would immediately agree to contribute. When I read Jeff's chapter, which is set in Eastern Europe, I thought of David Hewson, hoping he'd bring the story into Italy. David agreed, and turned in his chapter within 48 hours, writing it while he was on a book tour. It brought us to Washington D.C., and I thought, Who better to pick up the tale than James Grady, author of "Six Days of the Condor," the quintessential spy story set in our nation's capital. Now we were off and running.