THE SPELLMAN FILES is a Books-A-Million President's Pick::

"Meet the Spellmans—a delightfully quirky family of private eyes sure to tickle your funny-bone! You'll laugh out loud as this family uses their unique brand of investigative skills to not only serve their paying customers, but to snoop on each other as they navigate the treacherous waters of being a family, as well. Fun, fresh and hip—I can't wait for their next set of capers!"
Sandra B. Cochran,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Books-A-Million

I got an email this morning from my webmaster that I should post something to my blog. I spent a full hour prowling the Internet, trying to come up with something to write about, reading other author's blogs to see if I could just copy them with different content. I got nothing.

Then I was reminded of the last time I had blogging block. It was in early 2002 when my friend Biz Stone had a page for me on his website as a guest blogger. I was blogging about the upcoming screening of Plan B, scheduled for the end of January. Because we thought the project was cursed, there were some rituals the director, Greg Yaitanes, insisted I perform on the day of the screening. He gave me paper bag with a bundle of sage in it and a Star Trek novel. The significance had something to do with the Kobayashi Maru. He told me to burn the sage and the book before the screening. I burned the sage, but only managed to singe the corner of the book. I'm kind of afraid of flames—and ovens, certain types of heaters (heat sources in general)—so I couldn't bring myself to burn the book. I rationalized my refusal to do the ritual imagining the irony of performing the ritual to expunge bad fortune and the ritual resulting in bad fortune.

Anyway, I'm toying with the idea of responsibly burning something the night before the publication of my first book. Any suggestions are welcome. . . .

THE SPELLMAN FILES was named March 2007 Booksense Pick by independent booksellers.

Welcome to my first blog post on spellmanfilesthebook.com website. In this space I am supposed to muse on a variety of topics. I don't do much unsolicited musing, so I hope over time this blog can become more interactive. Feel free to ask me questions about writing, publishing, advice, dog training, etiquette, cooking, gardening, etc. Anything at all. If I can't answer your question with any sense of authority (which will most likely be the case) I will: a) ask an expert b) make something up or c) completely ignore you. But it probably won't be c.

Feel free to email me at contactlisa@lisalutz.com.

And a friendly reminder: THE SPELLMAN FILES will be in stores on March 13th! Be sure to check out my tour dates too.

Melissa Mia Hall at Publisher's Weekly talks with Lisa.

Lisa Lutz, a screenwriter, has written her first novel, The Spellman Files, about a fiercely funny family of private detectives.

Where did you get the idea for The Spellman Files?

I worked at a family-run PI firm in San Francisco in the mid '90s for about two years. There was this lovely office—extreme family-like atmosphere. There was nothing corporate about it. But every time the phone rang and you got off the phone, the bosses would harass you about who were you talking to, what did they say, all these rules. There were four phone lines, and you had to answer some of them differently, and some papers had to be shredded. It was a mix of warmth and total paranoia.

 

 Read full interview.

Variety features an article on the Spellman movie deal:

Paramount Pictures has optioned Lisa Lutz novel "The Spellman Files" for Laura Ziskin to produce.

San Francisco-set comedy concerns a family of private investigators who use their gumshoe skills not only to crack cases but to pry into one another's personal lives. Generated by Gersh's Gotham office, book caught the fancy of New York execs, including Par's Patricia Burke, earlier this month.

Read more: Par books 'Spellman', Studio opens 'Files' for Ziskin