Richard Belzer to Write Two "Meta" Mysteries Starring Himself

Hardly big Hollywood business, but of interest to me no less (I'm a die-hard fan of crime fiction). Salty actor/comedian Richard Belzer, who plays Detective John Munch on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to write two mystery books featuring himself as a TV performer caught up in his own plot. "It is with great enthusiasm that I will bring the world of show business, celebrity worship, sly social commentary and even `cameos' by real celebrities into my literary adventures," Belzer said in a statement, adding: "A potent mix of Dashiell Hammett, Oscar Wilde, Lenny Bruce and Robert Altman seasoned by the Belzerian vision of life, as the wry and raucous, raunchy worlds of make-believe and reality converge, this is the first `reality novel' of the new millennium that explores a unique universe that poses the question, `What is reality?'" (Whew, I hope Belzer gets a good editor at Simon & Schuster. That sentence is a mess). Belzer has written three books in the past--UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe, How to Be a Stand-Up Comic, and Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People (By Belzer and Marjorie Mowlam). The first book in this deal--I Am Not a Cop--will be published in fall 2008.

Comedian Belzer to write 2 mystery books [AP]

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