Patience is...

for the birds!

Word came from Warren Murphy last week that he is very close to signing with a publisher. In his note to the Destroyer Club, while he couldn't tell us the name of the publisher, he did tell us that he would have total control over the content. There would be no more ghosts. Jim Mullaney would be back as author under his own byline. And, best of all, Warren's going to get back into writing them!

I'm happy for us -- the fans. We're going to get characters who are back to normal. We're going to get rid of the strange plots and one unfortunately realized secondary character.

I'm happy for Jim Mullaney. He deserves to get his name on the books. He's a great writer, not just for the Destroyer -- its characters and humor -- but for his way of writing. His style is clear and flowing and always fun to read.

And I'm especially happy for Warren Murphy. Richard Sapir, his immensely talented partner (and Chiun channeler extraordinaire), was taken away from us much too young twenty years ago. I always had the feeling the fun went out of the series for Warren. He kept the books going with ghost writers, but he never wrote much Destroyer material after that. I think writing them again will be good for him. It'll get him back writing the no-hold-barred satire of pompous asses of all political stripes, goofy social engineers, and airhead celebrities.

Until now, I’ve always considered myself a patient person. I never minded waiting for Christmas. Even now, when the first Destroyer from the new publisher is anywhere from eight to twelve months away, that doesn’t bother me. I’ll be glad when I see the first one, but it’s fun anticipating.

No, what’s bothering me is waiting for the contracts to be signed. It’s very close, but until Warren signs on the dotted line, it can never be 100%. And that’s got me frayed! Once everything is set, I’ll be set too.