Stolen from Publisher’s Marketplace

Just this afternoon I was thinking that there hadn’t been a sit up/take notice kind of book deal, one that might have some relevance to the crime fiction world, in a long time. So of course this …

They’ve just lost another author:

New York Times

bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear’s seventh and eighth books in

her series featuring psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs, …

As there are quite a number on the crime fiction front. First, the next book from Blake Crouch:

Blake Crouch’s ABANDON, set in a remote mining town high in the Rockies where two backcountry …

As this is very good news indeed:

Russel McLean’s THE GOOD SON, introducing a troubled Scots PI, who is

dragged into a world of lies, violence, long-held secrets, and murky

criminal …

But then, I much preferred Rodgers with him than with Hammerstein:

Gary Marmorstein’s LORENZ HART: AN AMERICAN LIFE, a biography of the

tortured, brilliant lyricist (called “the Poet …

Overlook’s done a pretty good job at getting formerly neglected espionage novelists Robert Littell and Charles McCarry back on the radar. Now it looks like that ethos will apply once more:

Jim …

For that seems to work for Jamie Freveletti, whom I think I met briefly at ThrillerFest and is a member of the Chicago Contingent:

Jamie Freveletti’s RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL, introducing an …

One of my favorite crime writers, Jenny Siler, is going in a different direction for her newest project:

Myles J. Connor, Jr., and novelist Jenny Siler’s HONOR AMONG THIEVES,

pitched as a …

It’s just a one-line deal memo and yet it has the weight of a million paragraphs:

“Film director David Cronenberg’s first novel, to Nicole Winstanley at

Penguin Canada, in a …

The deal writeup for a big trilogy sale is plenty interesting:

Stieg Larsson’s THE MILLENNIUM TRILOGY, with THE GIRL IN THE DRAGON

TATTOO to be the first published from the trilogy, to Sonny …

As this is quite good news indeed:

A N Smith’s YELLOW MEDICINE, in which a corrupt sheriff’s deputy

confronts Malaysian terrorists in rural Minnesota, and HOGDOGGIN’, to

Benjamin …

I still have to read this:

Amy Belasen and Jacob Osborn’s JENNY GREEN’S KILLER JUNIOR YEAR, a

satire in which a 16-year-old daddy’s girl from Long Island becomes an

unlikely …

Long a fan of Laura James’ true crime blog CLEWS, I’ve been waiting for this news for a while. Now, here it is:

Attorney, true crime historian, and founder of CLEWS: The True Crime

Blog …

Consider the people involved in this film deal:

Film rights to Marcus Sakey’s debut crime thriller THE BLADE ITSELF,

about a young man who realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice …

And if you subscribe to Publishers Lunch you’ll have seen most of them last night, but in any case, the biggest one of the week is this:

San Francisco MD Josh Bazell’s debut novel BEAT …

First we have, shall we say, a rather unusual premise:

Pseudonymous Swedish author Tim Davys’ first novel AMBERVILLE, both a

plot-twisting noir and a meditation on good and evil, featuring a …

Though of course, that’s not how Holt is pitching this new series:

[

Paul Tremblay]1‘s debut mystery and start of a new series, THE LITTLE

SLEEP, pitched as The Big Sleep meets …

And for Kate White, it means a new publisher, new character and new scope:

NYT bestselling author and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Kate

White’s three new thrillers the first a stand-alone …

First, we all *thought* editors would stop buying DA VINCI CODE knockoffs but as the Bookseller informs us, that’s not so:

Transworld is taking a fresh stab at the Da Vinci Code market with a …

First, a most unusual mystery series to Penguin:

Mehmet Murat Somer’s THE KISS MURDER and THE PROPHET MURDERS, the first

in a mystery series set in Istanbul starring a transvestite nightclub …

In good, though not all that surprising news:

Author of Dead Connection, Alafair Burke’s LAST CALL, continuing with Detective Ellie Hatcher, pitting her against a serial killer targeting the …

Probably because it’s so evocative:

Christina Harlin’s MY BOSS IS A SERIAL KILLER, about a Kansas City

legal secretary who uncovers a series of murders, to Deborah Werksman

at …

First, I got wind of this deal on Backspace and had a feeling I knew who the editor would be:

Bram Stoker Award-winner Jonathan Maberry’s PATIENT ZERO, in which a

Baltimore police detective …

But even though this was just reported this morning:

Dan Begley’s MS. TAKEN IDENTITY, in which a failed male novelist

decides to write a chick-lit novel under a female pseudonym, becoming a …

If anything I’m surprised it took so long to broker (or at least to report publicly):

Linwood Barclay’s BAD MOVE, BAD GUYS, LONE WOLF, and STONE RAIN,

featuring a work-at-home …

Just to see if it lives up to whatever hype will follow suit:

 Standup comic and actor Richard Belzer’s I AM NOT A COP, featuring the

author as himself, a TV actor who gets wrapped up in …

It always seemed odd that Edward Wright, after gaining critical acclaim for his John Ray Horn series (and a good deal of support from his UK publisher Orion) couldn’t find a US publisher for the …

The subject header pretty much tells the tale, but here’s the deal memo:

Author of The Blade Itself Marcus Sakey’s four books, following Ben

Sevier to Dutton, for publication beginning …

And I suspect you will, too:

Victor Gischler‘s GO-GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE, in which an

ex-insurance salesman leads a small band of survivors through a

post-apocalyptic American landscape …

Because it makes total, total sense:

NYT bestselling author and two-time Edgar winner T. Jefferson Parker’s

LA OUTLAWS, moving to Ben Sevier at Dutton, in a major deal, for seven

figures, …

Because I’d rather save my snark for more deserving targets, you know? And I really do suspect it is, once more, a case where two lines distill away all the best elements of the book:

TV …

Which also translate into Things To Look out For in 2008. First up is another prosecutor getting in on the novel-writing game:

Assistant District Attorney and then chief of Boston’s gang unit …

Yesterday’s Publishers Marketplace deal roundup had a curious entry:

Kimberly Scott’s first novel, UNDERTOW, a legal thriller set in Boston,

and the first in a series, originally …

Longstanding readers of Confessions may have noted my tongue-in-cheek reporting of every deal between Scott Miller of Trident Media and editor Ben Sevier, then with St. Martin’s Minotaur. After …

Aside from founding and running January Magazine (host of the fantastic Rap Sheet) Linda Richards is a damn good writer in her own right. After three books featuring financial whiz-turned-sleuth …

Martina Cole may not be the biggest-selling novelist in Britain, but she certainly comes close. Her publisher, Hodder Headline, now affixes her novels with the “#1 bestseller” tag before …

One of my favorite writers, critics and people, Craig McDonald, has scored a two-fer of a book deal:

First there’s the fiction:

Journalist Craig McDonald’s HEAD GAMES, based on the …

I like good stories. Especially stories of people who persevere and keep writing even when things aren’t looking so good on the “getting published” part. So I’m especially …

And just when you thought the Scandinavian crime fiction boom had hit its peak, maybe not:

K.O. Dahl’s THE FOURTH MAN, the first of four new crime thrillers, to Peter

Wolverton at Minotaur, …

Which is my tongue-in-cheek way of saying that Katherine Neville has written a sequel to her bestselling debut novel, THE EIGHT – seventeen years after the book’s publication:

Katherine …

Excuse me as I pick my jaw up off of the floor….

Janet Evanovich and Stephen J. Cannell’s new hardcover adventure

series, in a major deal, in a two-book deal, to Jamie Raab at Warner, …

As we catch up on the latest in mystery/thriller acquisitions. First up, SMP gets a new author in a pre-empt:

Bill Floyd’s debut novel BEHIND THE DARK, about the wife of a serial

killer …

Which are my words, but also those who I’ve discussed this deal with:

David J. Schwartz’s SUPERPOWERS, dubbed “The Incredibles” meets THE

AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER …

I want to like this book. I hope it lives up to the premise:

Laurie Graff’s SHIKSA SYNDROME, about a Jewish woman who takes lessons on how to act like a gentile in order to attract Jewish men …

Ah, it’s been a while since I rounded up deals of note. First, there’s Perri O’Shaugnessy jumping ship from longtime publisher Bantam Dell to new waters:

From Perri …

First we have Linwood Barclay, who stays with Bantam Dell for his upcoming standalone:

Linwood Barclay’s NO TIME FOR GOODBYE, about a teacher whose wife’s

entire family disappeared …

First up, Alex Berenson, whose debut thriller THE FAITHFUL SPY was released a few months ago by Random House, makes a switch:

New York Times reporter Alex Berenson’s two new untitled novels, …

Nikita Lalwani’s first novel THE SQUARE ROOT, about a young British

Indian adolescent math prodigy whose parents are grooming her to attend

Oxford University at age fourteen, to Jennifer …

Which I’ll just let speak for itself, thank you very much:

Derringer Award-winning author Dave White’s WHEN ONE MAN DIES,

featuring New Jersey P.I. Jackson Donne, in a very nice deal, …

But it sounds rather like something I really want to read:

Two South-African born professors writing as Michael Stanley’s

DETECTIVE KUBU AND A CARRION DEATH, introducing an overweight opera …

So Jason Pinter alluded on his blog this morning that he was really excited about a trilogy he’d just closed a deal on. Based on the PM writeup I see why:

David Wellington‘s 13 BULLETS, …

Many people who have tried Jeffrey Cohen’s Aaron Tucker novels end up crying out as to why he doesn’t have more readers. Something tells me that with this new deal, he might get more: …

A few years ago before the crime fiction anthology boom pretty well exploded, TART NOIR, co-edited by Lauren Henderson and Stella Duffy, was pretty much one of the best ones going (I’ve read my …

I say this because a) the acquiring editor is Kristen Weber and b) the agent in question is Rolph Blythe, who is Read’s agent:

Gabriella Herkert’s ANIMAL INSTINCT, about a legal …

it’s a deal I’m particularly excited to report on:

Crime Blogger J.T. Ellison’s ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS, featuring a

Nashville homicide detective and her lover, an FBI profiler, who …

Yeah, I’m stealing my headlines from Maddox, but then again, this is pretty freaking head-spinning:

Actress Adrienne Barbeau and Irish

author Michael Scott’s THE VAMPIRES OF HOLLYWOOD, …

I need not repeat once more how much I loved PRAYERS FOR THE ASSASSIN. But I thought this story was done, and that we wouldn’t be seeing Ferrigno’s further reflections on America from a …

First, the extremely cool:

MOIST and DELICIOUS author Mark Haskell Smith’s SALTY, the humorous

struggles of a pampered and paunchy Heavy Metal superstar and his wife,

who is kidnapped while …

First up, Kristen Weber makes her first official buy in her new job with NAL, and she brings over a familiar face from Mysterious Press:

LA Times bestselling author Patricia Smiley’s SMALL …

Chances are likely that if you stop in a bookstore somewhere, James Swanson’s MANHUNT is getting prominent placement. And so, he’s going back to the same Lincoln-area well for his next …

So even though Kevin reported the details already, it’s still excellent to see the official PM writeup:

Kevin Wignall’s WHO IS CONRAD HIRST?, about a professional hit man who

wants out …

There aren’t too many pieces of deal news that make my jaw drop. But this one did:

C.J. Box’s three stand-alone thrillers, the first about a young girl

and her brother on the run in the …

First off, Darley Anderson does it again. There are some agents who can’t seem to settle for anything less than a six-figure deal (or at least, the ones that get reported, the rest likely …

Boy, get nominated for the Edgar and suddenly the world really opens up. After Polygon anted up for World rights for Allan Guthrie’s next three books, they have now turned around and sold US …

Though in truth, I think this could well be a phenomenal book once it’s published:

Author of The Casebook of Forensic Detection and Sir Bernard Spilsbury:

The Father of Forensics, Colin …

So first, three cheers for one of my favorite writers and people:

RAIN DOGS author Sean Doolittle’s two suspense novels, again to Shannon

Jamieson Vazquez at Bantam Dell, for publication in …

Anyone who’s paid attention to this blog for longer than 2 seconds will understand why I am super excited about this:

Shel Silverstein’s SHEL SILVERSTEIN’S AROUND THE WORLD, …

And one that went to auction, even!

Lisa Lutz’s THE SPELLMAN FILES, a debut about a young PI working for

her highly dysfunctional family’s PI firm, to Marysue Rucci at Simon

& …

the writing duo of PJ Parrish take a big step forward, as this deal report indicates:

NYT and USA Today bestseller and Edgar nominee P.J. Parrish’s next

three novels, to Louise Burke and Amy …

It’s always very cool when friends of mine get good news, and this certainly qualifies:

Kevin Wignall’s FOR THE DOGS, optioned to Stone Village Pictures (The

Human Stain, Love in the …

And things are awfully busy at William Morrow. First there’s David Highfill, who makes his first big acquisition since jumping ship from Putnam:

Co-author with James Patterson of five books …

That is the question that enters my mind as I read about this new deal:

Tom Cavanagh’s FAN KLUB, about a former detective with only months to

live who accepts one last case – tracking …

And I’m really, really curious to know who the other players in this auction were (and if I find out, I’ll more likely report on it here) but the winner is:

Man Booker Prize Winner John …

Otherwise how would we get fun deals like this one?

Kaitlyn Dunnett’s KILT DEAD, featuring a professional Scottish dancer who returns to her roots following a career-ending injury only …

The subject header pretty much sums it up, but here’s the deal report from late last week:

Walter Mosley’s KILLING JOHNNY FRY: A Sexistentialist Novel, an erotic

noir about a man whose …

A song which makes perfect sense considering this particular deal:

Terri Garey’s DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, about a former Goth girl who wakes up from a near-death experience to find herself …

Subject header pretty much says it all, but the deal report — a few weeks after the logistics were worked out — has the details:

Barry- and Anthony Award-winning crime writer …

But this time, there are a few twists attached:

Marcus Sakey’s THE BLADE ITSELF, about a regular-guy protagonist caught up in a kidnapping scheme that just might cost him everything he …

It may be too early to call this a bona fide trend, but then again, so often we get a trend of one these days. But considering Kathryn Fox’s debut MALICIOUS INTENT will be out next month in the …

I mean, this we need?

Star of "Riverdance" Michael Flatley with Douglas Thompson’s THE LORD OF THE DANCE: My Story, revealing the drama behind the author’s rise from the streets …

At the Toronto Bouchercon, some of you may remember an ad in the accompanying handbook that read something like this:

!!!LIMITED TIME OFFER!!!

The first 500 literary agents

who answer this ad will …

Because, I guess, BELLE DE JOUR was such a smashing success in the UK, W&N will be going back for sloppy seconds, so to speak:

Weidenfeld & Nicolson are delighted to announce that they …

This deal report isn’t particularly odd taken at surface value, but what’s odd for me is that I’d heard great things about this first novel — from a source at a different …

Because doesn’t it seem tailor-made for the man who would be ALIENIST:

Yale law professor Jed Rubenfeld’s debut novel, THE NAME OF ACTION, an

historical thriller set in Manhattan …

This is the kind of news that makes me break my Friday hiatus:

Emily Maguire’s provocative TAMING THE BEAST, about a 14-year-old student’s passionate relationship with her English …

but I guess I figured cutting off heads was so, I dunno, 18th century:

Jeremy Mercer’s WHEN THE GUILLOTINE FELL, about the last person executed by guillotine in France, in 1972, for a …

Or at least, I really hope so:

Actor, writer, comedian Harry Shearer’s NOT ENOUGH INDIANS, about a down-and-out town that applies for Native American tribal status and the misadventures …

Especially when your clients ink contracts like this one:

Dan Fesperman’s THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO, to Sonny Mehta at Knopf, in a two-book deal, by Jane Chelius of the Jane Chelius …

And that alphabet letter, I suspect, will be sponsoring this series for a few more installments to come:

Jeff Lindsay’s DEAR DADDY DEXTER, which continues Darkly Dreaming Dexter’s …

In truth, Naomi Alderman’s debut novel — sold first to Viking UK and slated for publication there in March — is more a coming of age tale, but I’ve my reasons for the subject …

Why does this news make me happy? Read on:

Former Director of the Forensic Biology Department of the Office of the

Chief Medical Examiner of New York City Robert C. Shaler’s WHO THEY

WERE: …

I’ve just made up a new rule: if an agent makes a deal with a particular editor three or more times, they are officially in BFF mode. Examples: Darley Anderson & Kate Miciak.  Simon …

A.J. Jacobs annoyed reviewers everywhere* with his last book, THE KNOW-IT-ALL. Now, he’s baaaaaack, and this time, it’s biblical:

KNOW-IT-ALL author AJ Jacobs’ THE YEAR OF LIVING …

Because someone else beat me to it:

Recent Columbia MFA grad Elisa Albert’s WHEN YOU SAY YOU’RE A JEW, a

short story collection that details with black humor the modern-day

dilemmas of …

But then, maybe it’s just me:

Anonymous’s ACADEMY X, told from the perspective of a hapless high-school English teacher, a comic novel about the world of New York’s elite …

Mostly because of the working title of the opening book in this new two-book deal:

Ellen Crosby’s THE MERLOT MURDERS and UNTITLED second mystery, set at a

family-owned vineyard in Virginia …

I mean, what to make of this new deal?

Whitney Shroyer, Letitia Walker, and Michael Traister’s THE SECRET

LIVES OF SOCK MONKEYS: Daily Life at the Red Heel Monkey Shelter,

capturing an …

I suppose it had to happen, but it still strikes me as somewhat odd:

Lisa Rogak’s THE MAN BEHIND THE DA VINCI CODE, a biography of author Dan Brown (including "his first calling as a …

It’s easy to see why this new deal could inspire some controversy down the line:

SF Chronicle best-selling author of The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green Joshua Braff’s PEEP …

Giles Blunt, whose Algonquin Bay novels are fast becoming among my favorites, has switched US publishers for his next books:

Giles Blunt’s BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, the fourth novel in the …

If gut reactions are anything to go by:

Author of SLUGS and NECESSARY EVIL, Shaun Hutson’s SHAPESHIFTER, the

first Iron Maiden graphic novel, done with the full cooperation of the

band, to …

I must admit that I read the PM blurb for this new deal and my eyebrows went way, way up:

Toni McGee-Causey’s BOBBIE FAYE’S VERY (very very very very) BAD DAY,

the misadventures of one …

Since Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman’s first book together, YIDDISH WITH DICK AND JANE, proved to be such a success, they are going back to the well:

Ellis Weiner and Barbara …

I rather question the wisdom of this deal on several levels:

23 year-old British journalism student Richy Smith’s YOU CAN GET

ARRESTED FOR THAT: An American Crime Spree, the true account of a …

Although that said, I think I’d need to see a fuller synopsis before I completely pass judgment on this deal:

Walter Satterthwait’s PERFECTION, a satirical novel about a serial

killer …

I think this may be a special notation in the psychological thriller category:

Frank Tallis’s MORTAL MISCHIEF: The first volume of the Liebermann

Papers, in which Dr. Max Liebermann, a young …

But I’ll try to restrict myself to just one:

Salon columnist and author of the forthcoming LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE

PURSUITS Ayelet Waldman’s WINTER’S END, a novel about …

The International Thriller Writers’ Association started off with a splash and it’s only getting louder. With a cocktail reception forthcoming during Book Expo and many star wattage authors …

Well, not yet, but she’s certainly being situated to do so very soon:

Sara Gran’s DOPE, a genre-bending exploration of noir that takes us

deep into the hellish heroin culture of New …

Though his new novel won’t be out in the US until June, Giles Blunt’s BLACK FLY SEASON — and the entire John Cardinal series — is doing well enough to inspire confidence in his …

Raelynn Hillhouse’s debut novel, RIFT ZONE, got a lot of attention when it was released last year, and the resulting success has landed her a new deal:

Raelynn Hillhouse’s second novel, …

But interestingly, it’s not Tara Moss who inks a deal here, but someone else entirely:

Australian author Kathryn Fox’s debut forensic thriller, MALICIOUS

INTENT, about the investigation …

First up, it amuses me to no end to watch as Otto Penzler builds up Harcourt’s new crime imprint with his buddies, like Tom Cook, Robert Daley, and Andrew Klavan. But now he’s gone and got …

At least, that was my initial reaction:

Cammie McGovern’s EYE CONTACT, about the murder of a young girl in a

small town, the severely autistic boy who witnesses the crime, and the …

The annual anthology of short mystery fiction will be returning after a bit of a hiatus:

Ed Gorman and Marty Greenberg’s anthology THE YEAR’S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES, …

Even if it wasn’t me:

Lisa Rogak’s NO HAPPY ENDINGS: THE LIFE OF

SHEL SILVERSTEIN, a biography of the legendary children’s author, whose

life is described as “a fascinating …

This was actually reported late last week but I only saw this now:

Canadian author Louise Penny’s debut crime novel STILL LIFE, featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du …

I was thisclose to preparing a “Disappeared” feature on this guy, but luckily, now I won’t have to:

Shamus Award winner D. Daniel Judson’s THE DARKEST PLACE, a

Hamptons-set …

Even if, I must admit, I am intrigued despite myself:

Sarah D’Almeida’s mystery series DEATH OF A MUSKETEER, THE MUSKETEER’S SEAMSTRESS and THE MUSKETEER’S APPRENTICE, …

Especially since I’m a new convert to this writer’s work:

Bestselling French mystery writer Fred Vargas’s HAVE MERCY ON US, compared in UK reviews to Henning Mankell, to …

Well, maybe not, but I do wonder what took so long for something like this to show up:

Chick lit author Sarah Mlynowski and chick lit editor Farrin Jacobs’s LIKE LIFE BUT FUNNIER: How to Write …

Publishers Marketplace reports in with further details on this deal reported earlier here:

Author of Twisted City and Tough Luck Jason Starr’s TIN GOD, a noir thriller set in Brooklyn …

Since he’s been all over the television flogging his soon-to-be finished book on BTK, and lo and behold, he’s beaten to the punch:

NYT bestselling author Carlton Smith’s …

And oh looky, yet another forensic thriller written by a chick:

Dianne Emley’s CHAIN OF PEARLS, the first in a series featuring a Southern California homicide detective embroiled in a …

So Otto Penzler’s been a very busy boy of late. Not only does he run his bookshop, put his head together with former publishing bigshot (and Random House UK consultant) Anthony Cheetham to …

But when it comes to this deal, what the hell, right?

Bestselling author of PREP Curtis Sittenfeld’s THE MAN OF MY DREAMS, following a young woman from the age of fifteen to thirty as …

Yesterday’s edition of Publisher’s Lunch semi-snarkily indicated that this deal would result in a ton of articles and profiles when the book actually sees the light of day, and well, there …

There’ve been so many notable deals posted that I’m just going to lump them in one big long post. First up:

Michael Cox — he of the largest UK advance (allegedly) and hardluck …

So earlier this week we had the high powered debut legal thriller deal. Now comes the high powered debut forensic thriller deal:

Chair of the Federal advisory commission for the Human Genome Project …

Although if I did, I’d have to pick a less shock-grabbing title than the subject of this brand-spankin’ new deal:

Elle magazine editor and journalist Carlene Bauer’s THE …

Because, as this new deal offering shows, you just know there’s going to be a ton of publicity money thrown behind this book:

Stanford University law professor (and intellectual …

Mostly because I suspect I’m probably the audience for this book:

Bart Schneider’s fourth novel, MINNESOTA ROSE, a contemporary thriller set in Minneapolis and St. Paul, involving …

Actually, I don’t know if I should trademark that phrase or not, but it’s been ages since I’ve posted some new deals so might as well catch up now.

First, there’s Harry …

All you Stephanie Plum fanatics, and there must be a lot of them considering how this series still tops bestseller lists, here’s some good news for you:

NYT bestselling author Janet …

Why do I have the sinking feeling that thanks to Philip Roth, alternate history is the new black? This brand new deal just adds to the bandwagon feeling:

David L. Robbins’s …

Of course, that fabulous song comes to mind as news of a new horse-racing anthology hits the PM airwaves:

Maggie Estep and Jason Starr’s anthology BLOODLINES: Stories of Glory,

Guts and …

One of these days I might see a new deal reported and not want to be snarky about it. But that day has not arrived yet:

Keith Raffel’s DOT DEAD, a debut Silicon Valley mystery, about a high …

Though  many rising stars and established veterans have jumped ship of late, Harlan Coben–who did some jumping himself a couple of years ago–will stick around with Dutton, as just …

I realize that publishing is often governed by trends, especially when they are au courant and written about constantly in the media. But for god’s sake, does the new one mean we’ll be …