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Busy week...But not too busy to battle giant monsters.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Busy week…But not too busy to battle giant monsters.
This past week has been a flurry of activity. I finished an interview with David Baldacci for Romantic Times magazine (I’ll link to it when it goes to press). And I did a podcast for the middle-school book, Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow. I’m also in the middle of preparing a PowerPoint presentation in association with that book. It’s basically a tour through my Cabinet of Curiosities at home. The cabinet contains all manner of artifacts, fossils, preserved insects, and other items collected during my travels.
(Tyrannosaurus Teeth)
Many of the artifacts are intimately connected to the story of Jake. I’ll also be bringing a few of those objects from that cabinet along on the tour (oh, and I’ll also be giving away some trilobite fossils during this tour to a few lucky kids).
Other than that I’m in the middle of a new thriller that will come out this winter. I’ll be sharing more about that as time goes on, but just to let a small cat (really a kitten) out of the bag, the title for the new book is Beasts of Babylon and features a veterinarian as the lead character. They always say “write what you know,” so I figured this time out I would. The book is a stand-alone adventure, unconnected to the SIGMA books.
(The Last Oracle Mass Market Paperback)
And speaking of SIGMA, the mass paperback of The Last Oracle will be hitting stands at the end of May. And there will be a surprise bonus in this book, something that’s never been done in the publishing world. There will be a teaser chapter to Steve Berry’s winter book, titled The Paris Club. Now while a teaser chapter isn’t unusual in a book, it is unheard of to have a book by a one publisher placed in the book of another publisher. How did this strange dynamic come about? Well, Steve Berry and I have been good friends for many years, and currently we share the presidency of the International Thriller Writers. As a mark of that friendship, our two publishers have agreed to swap teasers in our respective books, which I think is wonderfully supportive of our houses. So I hope you check out this industry-setting first!
Lastly, I spent a portion of the last two weeks keeping the world safe from hideous monsters (okay, I was really just playing Gears of War 2 on my Xbox). And I’m happy to report that for the moment, the world is once again safe…at least until Gears 3.
I also read the complete run of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. The series was equal parts adventure and hilarity.
So that’s it for the moment.
Coming up next: the complete jacket copy to this summer’s big Sigma book The Doomsday Key.
Comments
Name: Jim Rollins Date: 2009-02-10
Stephanie, I have all three: PS3, Wii and Xbox Jim Rollins
Name: Krista Date: 2009-02-10
Whew, glad to know the world is safe again! Steve Berry is another of my favourite writers....good to know there will be a teaser of his book at the end of yours! Not that I needed incentive to get your book or anything.....LOL
Name: Susan Tunis Date: 2009-02-10
Jimbo, are you going to tell them what that photo is?
Name: Jim Rollins Date: 2009-02-10
Hi Suetu :) Yes!
Name: Monica Johnson Date: 2009-02-10
Setting trends in the publishing world! That must make you very proud. Can you tell us how big that fossil is? It's definitely not something I'd like to encounter in any creature's mouth!
Name: Arlie Date: 2009-02-10
Hi Jim A new stand alone, at last, thank you , thank you, and a great new character and animals. What more can we ask? Hope you make it down LA way this summer. My copy of The Last Oracle still needs your john hancock in it. :-) Arlie
Name: Judy Date: 2009-02-11
Hey, Jim. I just discovered your books last year and now have all of them. I'm in the process of re-reading them now. I am a middle school teacher and will be recommending that Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow be added to our school library. I know the kids will love it!
Name: Greg Mahler Date: 2009-02-11
Hey Jim, HAHA I can say that I was alongside you in your persuit to rid the world of monsters in Gears 2, lol. And I have all 3 systems as well, Wii, PS3, and 360 ;-) But I have to say 360 is the best it has better games and way more exclusive titles than the PS3. And the Wii is for my wife, lol...Mario Cart. Beasts of Babylon....nice. This has me thinking already. I read the free chapter on the Ransom book. I'm going to be getting that book. So busy you must be Jim.....keep it up!
Name: Brian Date: 2009-02-12
Oh yeah, XBox gaming is definitely the way to go. My XBox Live ID is actually SigmaForceCmdr (not to step on Pierce's toes or anything :P). I'm eagerly anticipating The Doomsday Key, and I'm pumped to hear about Beasts of Babylon. Add to that the news about The Paris Club chapter, and this is easily the best news I've read online all day!
Name: Laurie Date: 2009-02-13
Glad to hear the new book is a stand-alone. Not that I don't like the SIGMA series, it's just that I do like to read about completely new characters in brand new settings.
Name: Dan "Mr. Intensity" Detlefsen Date: 2009-02-21
With a nickname like this you'd think I was a pro wrestler...HA! Nope, just another big fan of Sigma Force and Mr. Jim Rollins. I own a Wii and PS2; love playing "Big Brain Academy" on the Wii (proved to me that my brain wasn't as big as I thought it was, HA!) and "Guitar Hero" games on PS2. Reading, sports, and listening to music (80's hair bands, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, KISS, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, old Metallica and the like, not newer stuff) are my passions along with fishing and bow hunting as my primary interests. I love your books, Jim, because they are so action packed and intense. Stand alone books and new characters are awesome but please continue pumping out the Sigma series. It ROCKS!!!
Name: Laurie Hiller Date: 2009-02-23
Cross-referencing a new trend...First characters and now teasers...Like it! Looking forward to the seeing what the familiar characters are up to and meeting the newcomers. When are the books going to turn into games? "Beasts of Babylon"...I'll be patient. And the tour interaction...Obviously the ideas are just beginning... Fun.
Name: William Sidmore Date: 2010-01-23
"Fossils, the tangible link to our past, since the earliest times, and you know the rest of the story. Certain fossils discovered such as an ammonites, artifacts such as a hematite grooved axe fit all too well in the 'hand.' My favorite objects even such as a tumbled sculpture of 'Serpentine' from the Sacramento river can be very enjoyable for it's quality and shape. A ventifact of dark green nephrite jade discovered in Wyoming, again, 'hand size' with a polished eroded surface, is 'sculpture' and a true 'art form' found while on a hike, or an expedition...Bill Sidmore
Name: Stephanie Timiney Date: 2009-02-10
X-box? Well at least it's not a Wii ;). I am a PS3 fan and urge you to convert if you do not own this console :). I think its great that authors share a camaraderie to the extent of plugging each others books in their own. I am very excited to read Jake Ransom and Doomsday Key, but adding Beasts of Babylon was just a nice big red bow for me! Totally makes up for the X-box ;)