It began when “Monk” creator Andy Breckman hired me and my then-TV writing partner William Rabkin to write an episode of the TV series entitled “Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico,” which would end up being the first of three episodes we wrote for the show.
At the time, Bill and I were about to begin writing & producing the Lifetime TV series “Missing” and I was deep into writing the “Diagnosis Murder” novels, based on the TV series of the same name that we’d also written & produced. When Andy was approached about writing “Monk” novels, he passed on the opportunity and recommended me for it instead.
I took the job, which was an insane thing to do, since it would mean writing a new book every ninety days, alternating between “Monk” and “Diagnosis Murder,” at night while also running a TV series during the day. That’s how much I loved Monk. I kept up that brutal pace for two years before ending the “Diagnosis Murder” book series.
Andy liked my first “Monk” novel, Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, so much, that he hired Bill and I to adapt it into an episode of the TV show. The episode, “Mr. Monk Can’t See A Thing,” may be the first time in American TV history that a tie-in novel of a TV show has been adapted into an episode of the series….and by the author of the book, no less (if it’s been done before, we haven’t found it. And if it has, it’s obviously a rare occurrence!)
If it wasn’t for
Andy’s enthusiasm and support, I doubt I would have written so many “Monk”
novels or had so much fun doing them. He gave me his trust and the creative freedom
to make the book series my own, and for that I will always be grateful.
I want to thank Kerry Donovan, who has been my editor on this series from the very beginning, my agent Gina Maccoby who put together the deal, and my go-to medical and forensic expert, Dr D.P. Lyle. I also regularly leaned on my “cop buddies” Paul Bishop, Lee Lofland, and Robin Burcell for their expertise on police matters and I hope I didn’t embarrass them too much with the great liberties I took with the information they gave me.
It’s not easy writing two books a year, particularly if you’re doing it part-time while making your living in television. I can trace my life in these books, like Mr. Monk in Outer Space and Mr. Monk Goes to Germany, both of which I wrote while writing, producing and shooting a movie in Berlin and Cologne. They kept me sane, and out of trouble, while I was far away from home.
For the most part, though, the time I spent on these books was time I didn’t spend with my family, particularly on this last one, which required more than a few all-nighters. So, with deep appreciation, I want to thank my wife Valerie and my daughter Madison for the sacrifices they made during the last seven years while I pretended to be a woman assisting an obsessive-compulsive detective on his investigations.
And finally, I want to thank all of you for being such devoted readers, and for the many emails, letters, and kind words you’ve shared with over the years about these books. It meant a lot to me.
