Deals o’ the week

As provided, of course, by the fine people who make them available at Publisher’s Marketplace (what would I do without them? I honestly have no clue…)

First, it’s been a very good October for Steve Hockensmith. He sent out his manuscript to potential publishers, had a good time at Bouchercon, announced that he’s starting a new film & TV mystery column for AHMM, and oh yeah–the manuscript found a home:

Steve Hockensmith’s HOLMES ON THE RANGE and two more books in the series, a mystery set on a cattle ranch in 1892 Montana, in which cowboy sleuths Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer investigate murder a la their hero, Sherlock Holmes, whose exploits they will follow in Harper’s Weekly, to Ben Sevier at St. Martin’s Minotaur, in a good deal, by Elyse Cheney at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (world).

Sherlockian fanboys in Montana–yup, this does sound mighty interesting. Congratulations to Steve, whose first book will see publication sometime in 2006.

Next, I just wanna know what’s going on in Ireland. There’s John Connolly and Ken Bruen and Colin Bateman and Declan Burke and Pauline McLynn and KT McCaffery and Zane Radcliff and Ingrid Black and tons more I’m probably forgetting…and now there’s playwright-turned-crime writer Declan Hughes:

Irish playwright and screenwriter Declan Hughes’s debut crime trilogy, beginning with THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD, featuring a Los Angeles private detective who returns to his home town of Dublin after a two decade absence and becomes unwillingly embroiled in the transformed city’s dark underbelly, to Rob McMahon at William Morrow, to launch in spring 2006, by George Lucas at Inkwell Management, on behalf of John Saddler at Curtis Brown UK (US).

Let’s see…fish out of water…likely Chandlerian homage…but will he have to go up against the mean and nasty gardai? Only time will tell, I suppose.

And finally, this has to be the oddest comparison grouping I’ve seen in some time:

Songwriter, former music industry executive and ex-CEO of a manufacturing company Don Silver’s untitled first novel, set on the East Coast in both the 1960s and present-day, said to “invoke shades of Michael Connelly, THE CRYING OF LOT 49, and Paul Bowles,” to Daniel Halpern at Ecco, by Amanda Urban at ICM.

I mean, I suppose it could work, or it could just be a really odd comparison grouping.