# A harrowing WALK through the destruction of Los Angeles



## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Hello all!

My 2004 novel THE WALK is now available on the Kindle for a mere $1.40 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BSHHTQ. I hope you'll download it for your next airplane trip, subway ride, or visit to the bathroom.

Here's what the book is about...


> It's one minute after the Big One. Marty Slack, a TV network executive, crawls out from under his Mercedes, parked outside what once was a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, the location for a new TV show. Downtown LA is in ruins. The sky is thick with black smoke. His cell phone is dead. The freeways are rubble. The airport is demolished. Buildings lay across streets like fallen trees. It will be days before help can arrive.
> 
> Marty has been expecting this day all his life. He's prepared. In his car are a pair of sturdy walking shoes and a backpack of food, water, and supplies. He knows there is only one thing he can do ... that he must do: get home to his wife Beth, go back to their gated community on the far edge of the San Fernando Valley.
> 
> ...


Here's what some of the critics had to say...

"Harrowing and funny..."
-Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"Lee Goldberg's hard-to-classify but not-be-missed The Walk, set in the aftermath of a major Los Angeles earthquake, pokes fun at the TV industry in the midst of disaster..."
-Jon Breen, The Year In Mystery and Crime Fiction 2004

I came up with the idea for the book while I was writing and producing the TV series MARTIAL LAW. We were shooting in a really bad area of downtown L.A. and I couldn't help wondering what would happen if The Big One hit right at that moment. It took me another two years to research and write the book...I actually walked the whole route that my hero does, just not all at once!

Lee Goldberg
www.leegoldberg.com


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

Looks interesting, I downloaded it.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Thank you, I hope you enjoy it!

Lee


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Hollywood & The Walk...

THE WALK is about a TV producer who is stuck in downtown Los Angeles when a major earthquake decimates the city and has to walk back home to the suburbs. When the book first came out, there was some interest from a Major Hollywood Studio. They wanted to meet me ASAP. So I went down to studio to meet the development executive.  

The executive told me that he absolutely loved human drama and the action-adventure elements of the book. He only had a few thoughts and concerns about it as a movie. For instance...

"Does the guy have to be a TV producer?" he asked.

I was prepared for that question. I knew the character might be "too inside," meaning too much a part of the entertainment industry, to
connect with a wider audience. 

"No," I said, "Of course not. We can give him a different profession."

"How about if the TV producer was a team of cheerleaders instead?" the executive asked. 

I laughed, thinking he was joking. He wasn't. But he wasn't done with me yet. 

"And what if the earthquake was a tidal wave?" he asked.

Needless to say, the book remains unfilmed. 

Lee


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## sandypeach (Oct 28, 2008)

Lee,
I read "The Walk" this past Saturday.  What a wonderful story and surprise ending.  I will definitely be looking for more Lee Goldberg books in the near future.  I really enjoy your writing style.  Once I started the book, I had trouble putting it down, which is why I was able to get through it in one day (much to my wife's chagrin).

Paul


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Thank you, Paul! I am so glad you enjoyed the book. If you are looking for more of my work, seven of my eight original MONK books and my last DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel are available in Kindle editions. And last week, I posted Kindle editions of my out-of-print, 1995 debut novel MY GUN HAS BULLETS and the 1997 sequel BEYOND THE BEYOND. 

For me, the great thing about the Kindle is that it brings new life to out-of-print books. In just six weeks, THE WALK has been found by nearly a thousand readers who missed the book in its 2004 hardcover release. 

Lee


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Thanks, you're making my debit card cry... 

So many good books, so little time. =sigh=








....appears I already bought it. Why is it not on my Kindle...? Hmmm.


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## sandypeach (Oct 28, 2008)

LeeGoldberg said:


> Thank you, Paul! I am so glad you enjoyed the book. If you are looking for more of my work, seven of my eight original MONK books and my last DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel are available in Kindle editions. And last week, I posted Kindle editions of my out-of-print, 1995 debut novel MY GUN HAS BULLETS and the 1997 sequel BEYOND THE BEYOND.
> 
> For me, the great thing about the Kindle is that it brings new life to out-of-print books. In just six weeks, THE WALK has been found by nearly a thousand readers who missed the book in its 2004 hardcover release.
> 
> Lee


Hey Lee,
I read both of the Charlie Willis books last week. Hilarious. I really enjoy the parody of television network programming with a good mystery built in. As soon as I get my TBR list down, I'll probably take a look at the Monk and DM books. Keep up the good work

Paul


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Thank you, Paul. Although both books are a satire of the TV biz, you would be surprised how many of the situations are based on real events (for instance, the star who gets a new car from the studio every year that has to pass inspection by his psychic colorist). 

You will find the humor in the MONK and DIAGNOSIS MURDER much more -- how should I put it? -- gentler than in the books of mine that you've read so far. I think you've read more of my books than my wife has!

Lee


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

This book is 'featured' in my blog today!

Be sure to stop by and check it out: http://redadept.wordpress.com/


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Thank you so much!!

Lee


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

It's one minute after the Big One. Marty Slack, a TV network executive, crawls out from under his Mercedes, parked outside what once was a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, the location for a new TV show. Downtown LA is in ruins. The sky is thick with black smoke. His cell phone is dead. The freeways are rubble. The airport is demolished. Buildings lay across streets like fallen trees. It will be days before help can arrive.

Marty has been expecting this day all his life. He's prepared. In his car are a pair of sturdy walking shoes and a backpack of food, water, and supplies. He knows there is only one thing he can do ... that he must do: get home to his wife Beth, go back to their gated community on the far edge of the San Fernando Valley.

All he has to do is walk. But he will quickly learn that it's not that easy. His dangerous, unpredictable journey home will take him through the different worlds of what was once Los Angeles. Wildfires rage out of control. Flood waters burst through collapsed dams. Natural gas explosions consume neighborhoods. Sinkholes swallow entire buildings. After-shocks rip apart the ground. Looters rampage through the streets.

There's no power. No running water. No order.

Marty Slack thinks he's prepared. He's wrong. Nothing can prepare him for this ordeal, a quest for his family and for his soul, a journey that will test the limits of his endurance and his humanity, a trek from the man he was to the man he can be ... if he can survive *THE WALK*

*The Kindle bestseller....now $1.99 for a limited time!*

THE WALK also includes free bonus excerpts from Lee Goldberg's widely acclaimed crime novel _The Man with the Iron-On Badge_ and J.A. Konrath's best-selling, kick-ass thriller _The List_.

*CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR LEE GOLDBERG*

"Can books be better than TV? You bet they can -- when Lee Goldberg's writing them. Get aboard now for a thrill ride," New York Times bestselling author Lee Child

"You'll finish this book breathless," New York Times Bestselling author Janet Evanovich

"Leaves you guessing right up until the heart-stopping ending," New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner

"Lee Goldberg can plot and write with the best of them," Mystery Scene Magazine

"When it comes to delivering a first-rate mystery, Lee Goldberg has the hands of a master surgeon," New York Times bestselling Author Rick Riordan

"Harrowing and funny..."
-Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"Lee Goldberg's hard-to-classify but not-be-missed THE WALK, set in the aftermath of a major Los Angeles earthquake, pokes fun at the TV industry in the midst of disaster..."
-Jon Breen, The Year In Mystery and Crime Fiction

"With books this good, who needs TV?" Chicago Sun Times

*ABOUT THE AUTHOR* - Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award nominee. His TV writing and/or producing credits include "Hunter," "SeaQuest," "Spenser For Hire," "Diagnosis Murder," "Martial Law" and "Monk." His books include "My Gun Has Bullets," "Man with the Iron-On Badge," "Successful Television Writing," and the "Diagnosis Murder" and "Monk" series of original mystery novels.


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## JackCutty (Jul 16, 2010)

Wow, your description totally sold me on this book, I'm going to download it tonight and make it my next read! Sounds like a blast.
Thanks and good luck with the book ~Jack~


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

JackCutty said:


> Wow, your description totally sold me on this book, I'm going to download it tonight and make it my next read! Sounds like a blast.
> Thanks and good luck with the book ~Jack~


Thank you, Jack! I hope the book lives up to your expectations -- please let me know one way or the other.

Lee


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

HI Lee,

I merged your new post with your previous thread for this book. Also, just for your reference, here's a link to Forum Decorum and a recap of the rules. 

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html

We ask that authors have only one thread per Book, rather than start a new thread each time, it helps members who may be following you. Please bookmark this thread so that you may find it again to update.

We also have a seven day rule, and ask that you bump (make back-to-back posts) no less than seven days apart. You may, of course, respond to member posts at any time. Once you do, it resets the clock and you must wait seven days...

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!

Ann & Betsy
Book Bazaar Moderators.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> HI Lee,
> 
> I merged your new post with your previous thread for this book. Also, just for your reference, here's a link to Forum Decorum and a recap of the rules.


Thank you, Ann! I knew I had another, old thread out there somewhere. I tried SEARCH, and it led me to the old post, but it's not the same interface as this discussion... and I couldn't figure out how to add a reply. Sorry you had to make the extra effort on my behalf.

Lee


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I remembered it was one of the first books you'd introduced. . .so I went to your profile and went back to your earliest posts. . .sure enough, there it was.

You might PM Jeff with details about this thread and he'll include it in the Index threads he's maintaining at the top of the Book Bazaar.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I keep planning to stock food and water in case the big one hits, but I never get around to it. I hadn't thought of having some in my car in case it happens when I'm far from home.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

R. Reed said:


> I keep planning to stock food and water in case the big one hits, but I never get around to it. I hadn't thought of having some in my car in case it happens when I'm far from home.


The nice thing is that it also doubles as a roadside emergency/accident kit. The hard part is remembering to freshing your kits every few years. I know I am behind....

Lee


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

I grabbed it a ways back Lee, it's in my TBR. You should check out my "The Pressure of Darkness" would love your opinion

http://www.amazon.com/The-Pressure-of-Darkness-ebook/dp/B003DKK1KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1280775336&sr=1-1

H


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## j.m.zambrano (Jul 16, 2010)

The WALK makes me homesick for LA where I was born and raised.  Sometimes it was kind of like you describe even without an earthquake--the brown skies, floods, fires, power outages, falling buildings.  
Looks like a great read.  I'll download it.
Is the gated community Hidden Hills by any chance?
Jean


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

j.m.zambrano said:


> The WALK makes me homesick for LA where I was born and raised. Sometimes it was kind of like you describe even without an earthquake--the brown skies, floods, fires, power outages, falling buildings.
> Looks like a great read. I'll download it.
> Is the gated community Hidden Hills by any chance?
> Jean


Nope. But very close by...

Lee


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I remembered it was one of the first books you'd introduced. . .so I went to your profile and went back to your earliest posts. . .sure enough, there it was.
> 
> You might PM Jeff with details about this thread and he'll include it in the Index threads he's maintaining at the top of the Book Bazaar.


I'm sorry, I don't know who Jeff is. If you give me his name, I'll send him the message.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Jeff Hepple:  Check out the index threads at the top of the Bazaar. . .there are messages there about what info he needs to do his magic.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Harry Shannon said:


> I grabbed it a ways back Lee, it's in my TBR. You should check out my "The Pressure of Darkness" would love your opinion
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/The-Pressure-of-Darkness-ebook/dp/B003DKK1KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1280775336&sr=1-1
> 
> H


I've started a new thread on out-of-print books reborn on the Kindle. You might want to mention Pressure of Darkness there, as well as your Mick Callahan books.

Lee


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I just realized he has to walk over Laurel Canyon or Coldwater Canyon. I am out of breath just thinking about that. I will try to get this soon, I have several other KB authors ahead of it.


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2010)

Getting the preview!


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

R. Reed said:


> I just realized he has to walk over Laurel Canyon or Coldwater Canyon. I am out of breath just thinking about that. I will try to get this soon, I have several other KB authors ahead of it.


Actually, that's his initial plan... but he ultimately ends up walking over the Sepulveda Pass.

Lee


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

M.R. Mathias said:


> Getting the preview!


I hope you find it so enticing that you are compelled, against all reason or will, to buy the book and read it. 

Lee


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

LeeGoldberg said:


> Actually, that's his initial plan... but he ultimately ends up walking over the Sepulveda Pass.
> 
> Lee


Well, that's less steep, it makes sense. Unless he lives in Glendale or Burbank, though, he has a longer walk once in the valley.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

R. Reed said:


> Well, that's less steep, it makes sense. Unless he lives in Glendale or Burbank, though, he has a longer walk once in the valley.


He lives in a gated community it Calabasas.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

Yup, that's a walk.
I'll pick up the book, just to read about familiar places being destroyed.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

The Walk has picked up a bunch of great reviews in the blogosphere over the last few weeks...here's just a sampling.

Author  James Reasoner  wrote, in part:

_The Walk is part adventure novel, part horror novel, part comedy. A lot of terrible, tragic things happen, but Goldberg's dry, satiric wit crops up often enough to keep things from getting overwhelmingly gloomy. Marty and Buck are fine characters who play off each other wonderfully well, and the pacing really keeps the reader turning the pages. All of it leads up to an absolutely great ending that really put a grin on my face._

The media critic known as  Unfanboy  writes on his blog, in part:

_Surely part of the reason for the book's initial failure and late-blooming success is that it is nearly impossible to classify. The plot seems simple enough: it is the story of a man's attempt to get home and find his wife after the long-anticipated "Big One" earthquake more or less levels Los Angeles. As the book's peripatetic title might suggest, it is more of a philosophical meditation than a thriller - except that makes the book sound much less funny than it actually is. It might be more appropriate to describe The Walk as a kind of anti-apocalypse novel, or perhaps a satire on every disaster movie you've ever seen - but like the best satires, it offers some redemption in the end._

Author/editor  Ed Gorman  writes on his blog, in part:

_Goldberg gives us a real live person here. And he doesn't cheat. We come to like Slack but there are moments when we see him as shallow, selfish and even pompous. But he's fascinating because he's so well detailed.
[...]And then there's Marty Slack's marriage. This storyline is another example of what I mean about Goldberg pushing against genre boundries. This isn't just a cliche portrait of a marriage in trouble. This, and at some length, is the dissection of two people who've realized that their marriage may be beyond repair. The scenes of recrimination, rage, despair hurt to witness. Beth Slack is just as painfully real as Marty Slack.
[...]This is a magnificent novel--by turns hilarious, scary, sad, witty and ultimately wise on its judgments about the way so many of us live these days._

It's so gratifying to see the book still getting attention well over a year since it was first published on the Kindle.

Lee


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

If you've read THE WALK, I have a question for you...

But first, a little background for those of you who haven't read it. The book has sold over 10,000 copies since I made it available for the Kindle back in June 2009. In the book, Los Angeles is flattened by an earthquake and a guy stuck downtown when it happens sets off to walk across a landscape of devastation to get back to his wife, who is at their home in the San Fernando Valley.

Okay, so here's the question...

My wife thinks I should write a sequel, exclusively for the Kindle, to THE WALK, set over the same two days, except told from the wife's point-of-view and revealing what she was going through while her husband made his journey.

What do you think? Would you be interested in reading that?


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

I had a sample of your book on my kindle, so I wouldn't forget to buy this. When I spotted you here today, browsing the boards, I didn't even bother reading the sample. I'm sure that I will like your book as the book really sounds interesting. I got it just now.  Even though I could have gotten this book 99 cents cheaper in June, I wanted to thank you so much for letting us buy your book at this price range.


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

Toby,
You're welcome!
Lee


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

When THE WALK came out in hardcover seven years ago, nobody noticed it. I figured that was the end...but 15 months ago, I re-released it as an ebook. It was an immediate success and has sold nearly 12,000 copies so far and is still going strong.  

I want to introduce THE WALK to the next wave of new Kindle, iPad, and Nook owners this holiday season… and to do that, I’d like send you a FREE COPY of the novel in whatever eformat you prefer (epub, PDF, txt, html, etc). Here’s all that you have to do:

1. Send me an email at [email protected] with the subject FREE WALK BOOK and give me your name and the address of your website or blog (don’t have one? That’s okay. Read on).

2. Agree to post a review, positive or negative (but with no spoilers!) on your blog, website, Goodreads page, Facebook page, or the Amazon listing for THE WALK by Christmas Day. (You don't have to buy the book on Amazon to review it there, you only need to have an account). 

3. Email me a copy of the review or a link to the post.

This offer is limited to the first 100 people who respond by November 30. I've already given away thirty books since announcing this on my blog this morning... so if you're interested, you'd better hurry!


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I shall bump your thread to tell everyone to take you up on your generous offer. I read this last year, and found it to be a terrific novel.

Lee: no doubt you have this in a .mobi format for the Kindle?


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> I shall bump your thread to tell everyone to take you up on your generous offer. I read this last year, and found it to be a terrific novel.
> 
> Lee: no doubt you have this in a .mobi format for the Kindle?


Yes, I do have it in mobi...

Though I understand kindle files have a .prc extension. Or am I mistaken about that?

Lee


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

LeeGoldberg said:


> Yes, I do have it in mobi...
> 
> Though I understand kindle files have a .prc extension. Or am I mistaken about that?


Either is fine for Kindle....


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

It was two years ago today that, at author Joe Konrath's urging, I began my "Kindle Experiment" by making my out-of-print book The Walk available as a Kindle ebook. I've sold 20,000 copies of The Walk since then...and to celebrate, I am pricing the book at just_ *99 cents for the next week.*_

And as a special gift for you, if you email me proof of purchase of The Walk at lee AT leegoldberg.com, I will email you, in return, a free copy of my new book The Dead Man #1: Face of Evil

That's _two books_ for just *99 cents*. You can't beat that!


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## LeeGoldberg (Jun 12, 2009)

I was stunned to discover a moment ago that THE WALK was the #4 bestselling book on CreateSpace in July...beating Amanda Hocking and Joe Konrath. But that's not saying a whole lot...I only sold 201 copies in July.

The #1 book is MY SEIZURE DOG, written and illustrated by a 7-year-old boy...the royalties go towards the boy's care.
The #2 book is David Crawford's LIGHTS OUT, a post-apocalypse novel about what happens when the world goes dark.
The #3 book is FAREWELL MISS ZUKAS, a cozy mystery series.

Lee


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