Siegel's on Track

Warner Books has high hopes for its newest thriller, Derailed by James Siegel. The house has launched the author in a big way, with a $500,000 marketing campaign that features TV ads in New York, L.A., Chicago, D.C., San Francisco and Boston airing on Today, GMA, The View, Oprah, David Letterman, Jay Leno and Court TV, among other high-rated shows. Since New York trains play a key role in the book's plot, transit advertising in Gotham was a natural, with book giveaways staged at both Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. The Warner team players, especially head honcho Larry Kirshbaum, have a knack for creating enthusiasm—and strong sales—for new writers. They've bet their money and cheerleading on this one, creating a buzz that's already landed the book in the #16 slot. A 150,000 first printing has already been augmented with a second of 25,000 copies.