A Few Good Men
Cruise is Lieutenant Daniel Kaffe in the courtroom drama, A Few Good Men, directed by Rob Reiner. Two U.S. Marines receive a court martial for the death of a fellow Marine. However, the accused claim they were acting under orders. The Lieutenant defends the accused as their lawyer. Co-stars include Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore.
I couldn’t wait to play that courtroom scene in A Few Good Men with Jack Nicholson. I’d been thinking about it for months. And it was like, here it is, man, I’m going to enjoy every moment of this…People came from all around just to watch us play that scene. They were showing up along the edges! So many people. And when the scene ended the first time, there was applause. Everyone around, applauding. God, it was exciting. It was electric.
‘Right to be forgotten’ ruling
Google will comply with a European court ruling to remove links to certain online content. The rule protects individuals and requires search providers to remove links that an individual says violates their online privacy. The case was brought by Mario Costeja González, after he failed to remove an old auction listing that adversely affected his name.
Within the first 24 hours of the option being available, 12,000 requests are made. An internal team will review each request, then remove the link from access in the European Union and four other countries. Although the link will not be accessible in the EU, it can still be found in any location through the original Google.com domain.
Odd is on Our Side
Odd is on Our Side is the second Odd Thomas graphic novel, written by Koontz, Fred Van Lente and Queenie Chan. As Halloween festivities approach, Odd Thomas feels negative energy setting on the town. With the help of his girlfriend Stormy, Odd investigates whether the evil is simple mischief or malicious.
In Odd We Trust
In Odd We Trust, written by Koontz and Queenie Chan, is Koontz’s first Odd Thomas graphic novel. The novel is a prequel to the first Odd Thomas book. It follows Thomas as a 19-year old in California, who has psychic supernatural abilities that he keeps to himself until a child’s ghost reaches out to warn him of an impending evil upon the town. He works with local police and his girlfriend, Stormy, to try to prevent the evil and defend his town.
Odd Apocalypse
Koontz publishes the fifth novel in the Odd Thomas series. Thomas and his female companion are invited as guests to a billionaire’s estate. While there, they notice strange behavior from the staff. The companion, who has supernatural abilities of her own, informs Thomas that the estate is very evil and someone within desperately needs his help.
Odd Apocalypse is probably the darkest story thus far in the series, but Odd keeps his sense of humor, as he always will. This is also in some ways the most over-the-top Odd story, stretching the element of the fantastic about as far as I could without breaking my compact with the reader.
Ride the Storm delay
Koontz announces that the final book of the Moon Bay Trilogy will be Ride the Storm, yet there is a delay in the release date.
The third Chris Snow novel – after Fear Nothing and Seize The Night – will be written, God willing, but has been delayed because other ideas demand attention first. Ride The Storm, the third Snow, has been cooking for a long time, but it’s a delicate dish to develop.
Odd Hours
After leaving the monastery, Thomas moves to Magic Beach. While there, he encounters a young, pregnant woman, Annamaria, who he’s been seeing in his dreams. Shortly after, they are pursued by two large men, who assault Thomas. Thomas flees to a local church and seeks the help of a Sheriff, yet finds himself in the middle of a scheme to traffic nuclear weapons.
I received a lot of reader mail that said the Sinatra-as-poltergeist sequence in Odd Hours was the funniest thing they’d ever read, and I almost wished I hadn’t let him go to the Other Side.
The Wall of Masks
The Bobbs-Merrill Company publishes the final novel under the Brian Coffey pseudonym. Mike Tucker and his team plan to steal mask relics, found in a Mayan ruin. During the heist, a local general unexpectedly appears and kills several heist crew. Tucker and a few surviving flee and must find their way out of the Mexican jungle.
Surrounded
Under the Brian Coffey pseudonym, Kontz publishes a sequel to Blood Risk. Mike Tucker joins a crew to rob a bank and jewelry store in a shopping mall. During the heist, the crew leader changes the plans, which interrupts the operation. The police become involved and Tucker must figure out how to escape with the money.
Brother Odd
Koontz publishes Brother Odd, the third installment of the Odd Thomas series. Seven months after Forever Odd, Thomas finds himself at the monastery in an attempt to find peace. However, a monk goes missing and Thomas must use his special ability to find him and prevent a foreseen disaster.
Before writing Brother Odd, bioethicist Wesley Smith tells Koontz that through Odd Thomas, he is writing the life of a Saint. Koontz initially denies this, then after beginning the writing of Brother Odd, he has a realization:
I sat at the screen and called Wesley…I remember I had originally denied it and had to tell him he was right.
Forever Odd
Koontz releases the sequel to Odd Thomas, which takes place six months later. Odd’s childhood friend is kidnapped and Odd uses his psychic magnetism to track him down. The kidnappers are admirers of Odd, yet Odd finds them dangerous and plans an escape. Koontz says that as the book progressed, many themes arose. These include the power of friendship, the beauty of humility and the strength to endure.
One of those evolving themes grew so interesting to me, it became the core of the second Odd novel, Forever Odd, and it is best expressed by a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘Unearned suffering is redemptive.’
Fear Nothing
Koontz publishes Fear Nothing, the first book in the Moonlight Bay Trilogy. The novel follows the life of Christopher Snow, who has a rare disease called Xeroderma Pigmento. Snow goes on an adventure to uncover a conspiracy within the Fort Wyven military base that involves intelligent animals and mutations who have escaped from captivity. On why he decided to tackle a trilogy:
The characters came alive for me to such an extent that I did not want to let them go. Apparently readers feel the same way, because our mail has jumped from thirty letters a day to about seventy, at least for the past month, and all of the increase is about Fear Nothing…
Blood Risk
Under the pseudonym Brian Coffey, Koontz publishes Blood Risk. Professional thief, Mike Tucker, along with three others, prepares to complete their 14th operation. However, after the heist goes wrong, they find themselves in a war against the Mafia. Tucker must then perform a rescue mission. Koontz on the style of the book:
The Brian Coffey books were done in a lean, fast-paced style that employed an unusual amount of brisk dialogue.
Odd Thomas
The novel’s main character, Odd Thomas, is a short order cook who has the ability to communicate with the dead. Odd believes that a major catastrophe is about to occur and uses his supernatural abilities to investigate and try to prevent it.
I wanted to write a story about someone who lives a very simple life–and lives a very simple life because they must.
A Deeper Love Inside
Sister Souljah publishes A Deeper Love Inside as a sequel to The Coldest Winter Ever. The novel is told from the perspective of the protagonist Winter Santiaga’s sister, Porsche. Porsche goes to prison for assault, then returns to Brooklyn to find her sister and father in jail. She learns to be responsible and completes odd jobs to support herself and her drug abusing mother. Souljah on Porsche’s character:
She has a lot of emotions and tells a story that is different but I believe it is very exciting and it brings us meaning, all of us in our communities, back to the fact that we need to have a deeper love inside for one another.
Deeply Odd
A month after the events of Odd Apocalypse, Odd Thomas starts to receive visions of a future homicide. The visions are brought on after an encounter with a truck driver during his travels. He then investigates the truck driver to attempt to prevent the murders. Along the way, he meets various travelers who aid him on his mission to strop the truck driver and the team of murderers who plan to commit heinous crimes.
Deeply Odd is the sixth in a 7-book life arc for Odd….I’ve always enjoyed novels in which characters are on the move a lot. There’s a sense of freedom in them, a constant freshening of the narrative. I’ve written a few of them myself–Dark Rivers of the Heart Relentless, By the Light of the Moon, to name a few–but this is the only one in the Odd series.
Odd Interlude
Odd Interlude is a three part e-book series, picking up after Odd Hours. After leaving Magic Beach, Thomas and companion, Annamaria, venture to the Pacific Coast. While there, all is well, until they encounter evil and lurking spirits among the town. Thomas investigates and finds that most of the townfolk are held under the control of a mad scientist with psychic abilities. He takes on the scientist, with the aid of a local girl and an Artificial Intelligence machine.
Odd Interlude was a sidestep, having nothing to do with lingering spirits of the dead. Odd is now back on his road to redemption, learning by going where he has to go…As a reader, I’ve always enjoyed novels in which characters are on the move a lot. There’s a sense of freedom in them.
Seize the Night
Cemetary Dance Publications releases two limited edition hard covers of Seize the Night. The book is the second in the Moonlight Bay Trilogy. Christoper Snow works to uncover the mystery of children disappearing in the town of Moonlight Bay. He believes the disappearances are connected to a town secret and investigates without cooperation from the local police.
I look at books like Fear Nothing…and I can see progression that’s led almost inevitably to this book, but then again, it was probably the most fun writing experience I’ve ever had. I never had a moment in it where I was beating my head against the wall, which is the usual process.
Midnight and the Meaning of Love
Originally known as Midnight 2: Word is Bond, Souljah publishes the novel as Midnight and the Meaning of Love. Midnight gets married to a Japanese woman, who is then forcefully taken back to her country by her father. He sets off on a journey to retrieve his wife, along the way meeting influential characters.
I would describe Midnight and the Meaning of Love as a global novel, which means that it’s a story than anyone, anywhere in the world can truly love, be attracted to and understand…I write to people and places and traditions that they probably haven’t seen before in their literature.
Midnight: A Gangster Love Story
The prequel to Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever is published by Atria/Simon and Schuster. The main character, Midnight, leaves home in Sudan after his father’s wealthy empire is attacked. He settles in Brooklyn, New York and must learn how to survive in his new environment. Along the way he finds love with a Japanese woman named Akemi and does what he can to rebuild his family’s wealth while running a business. Souljah praises the character of Midnight as a model figure for the African-American community:
Through him is delivered the strongest and most relevant message to black men ever delivered in the form of literature…For men he is a goal and a standard. For women he is a dream and destination