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It used to be that people had to be famous for a reasonably long time before anyone would want to read a book by them. But in the go-go '90s, the period between appearing on TV and getting a fat book deal is evanescing. Last week DREW CAREY signed a contract with Hyperion publishers allegedly worth seven figures. (It's probably just coincidence that Disney owns both Hyperion and ABC, which airs Carey's 1 1/2-year-old sitcom.) JENNY MCCARTHY had been on MTV for just two years when her book was announced. JON STEWART's talk show was canceled, yet he too will be between covers. But don't start making room on your bookshelf just yet for all these would-be TV authors. Remember Rosie O'Donnell's reportedly $3 million book deal? Jamie Raab of Warner Books (owned by Time Warner, as is her show) says her opus, which was due out this fall, remains in an "embryonic" stage. And the deal John Tesh signed in 1995 for a memoir is off. "Right now," says a William Morrow spokesman, "John wants to concentrate on his music."
BOWE TRIES MARINE LIFE
Although his motto is more Semper Fight than Semper Fi, boxer RIDDICK BOWE has joined the Marine Corps Reserve. "It's something I always wanted to do," says Bowe, "and I thought I'd do it before I got too old." The 29-year-old almost didn't make it. The Marines had to waive the enlistment-age limit of 28 to admit him. He won't be the first Marine who was a boxing champ (Gene Tunney, Leon Spinks and Ken Norton served on active duty), but he is one of a very few multimillionaires ever to join the corps. According to his manager, Bowe has grossed more than $100 million from endorsements, purses and investments. After the champ reports for boot camp on Feb. 10, his take will drop to about $1,200 a month. And he will have to eat Marine Corps chow. That's one way to drop a weight class.
MUSIC TO RAVE TO
Grunge, you may have heard, is dead. And New Country isn't feeling too spry either. What, then, is the music to listen to now? A lot of people, including many who are paid to know these things, say it's techno, particularly as practiced by the Chemical Brothers, TOM ROWLANDS and ED SIMONS. Techno, one of the names for music that's made by feeding rhythms, samples of prerecorded music and other sound effects through a synthesizer, has mostly been the domain of dance clubs and all-night raves. But MTV has now put the Brothers' Setting Sun video into heavy rotation. Techno-types don't sing, so Oasis' Noel Gallagher, a fellow Brit, is guest vocalist on the track. Says Rowlands: "We don't even take a microphone on tour."