A FEW WORDS ON KILLER SWELL

During our vacation in Big Bear I read Jeff Shelby's novel Killer Swell. You know the one--a detective investigates the murder of the girl he loved in high school. Sounds a lot like Bad Moon Rising. The book I wrote. A LOT like it. Well, it is a lot like it. Shelby goes off in directions I don't, but the basic premise is the same. The opening is almost identical, there are similar characters, eerie similarities in plot points, and part of the climax is quite similar (though not exact). When I tell people who have read my book about Killer Swell, they say he must have seen my book somehow and they start asking me who I've sent the book to. The average person doesn't understand that if an agent or editor started stealing books, they'd be out of business immediately.

I think it was one of those things where two average guys who wanted to write a mystery novel came up with the same premise at the same time, and one of those guys got lucky and beat the other one to the bookstore. I truly feel it's as simple as that.

I needed to read it, though, to see exactly how close it was to BMR. It's pretty damn close. If the Nancy Ellis Agency passes on BMR, it'll probably end up in a drawer. Oh well. It's my baby, but I learned a lot and maybe it's time to move on.

Here are my novel ideas in various stages:

1. Hollywood Martyr
2. Godtalk (the YA novel--first draft almost done)
3. Studio City Blues (mystery novel/police procedural set in Studio City, CA)
4. Half-Mast.

So there are places to go and scenes to write. . .