Thanks for your interest. I was on BBC Radio 4 a couple hours ago and will tape an interview with NPR's Morning Edition tomorrow (this, presumably, will run on Wednesday).

Even though I deeply love the films, I have no interest in any film adaptation of my book (in practically every sense of "interest"), if such a thing comes to pass. My book will be a sequel to Puzo's novel. Period. I have a vision of what that can be, and my aim is to do nothing more or less than write a good book. I wouldn't have anything to do with the movie, no matter what I was paid.

That said, I know that I'm writing for an audience that's familiar with the films. I don't plan on doing anything that contradicts that rich body of mythology.

Again, thanks. Please reassure the doubters (a group, I'd imagine, composed entirely of people unfamiliar with my novels). Stories beget stories, and have since time immemorial. Shakespeare based his plays on pre-existing stories. The current novel and film of The Hours re-imagines both Mrs. Dalloway and Virginia Woolf's life. Literature's first novel (Don Quixote) was immediately followed by its first sequel (DQII). And of course there's Coppola, whose collaboration with Puzo created two of the best movies in history. I, too, am now collaborating with Puzo. I'll give it my best shot.

If you'd like to speak with me once the book comes out, this can be arranged through [the] head of publicity at Random House.

Warmly,
Mark Winegardner