In a way, I feel like I've lived a whole life in the last six weeks as I made my way through these Tales. They were published in 2-3 year intervals, whereas the next one didn't come out until 2007. There are still two book left (and potentially a new one this year!), but these first six feel like a unit. I won't give anything away, but if you've been following the series you won't be surprised by the development. M! On the other end of the spectrum, Mary Ann's slide into despicable territory picked up huge momentum here.

Madrigal continues to get stronger, which is great to see - always great to see more of Mrs. For a while, I kinda felt like she'd been written out. I was glad to see Mona played a sizable role here. I was tearing up when Michael thought he'd developed KS - don't worry, that's not a spoiler, especially considering the title of the next book in the series. It's still a funny and fun read, but this is decidedly a political novel, embodied by Michael's lover Thack. There's a new level of poignancy and maturity here. It's also the shortest, but Maupin packs in a lot of pathos. Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner. Tales will be directed by Jason Moore ( Avenue Q and Shrek). He is currently writing a musical version of Tales of the City with Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden (aka JJ) of the disco and glam rock-inspired pop group Scissor Sisters. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels.

Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. In 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle. Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam. Armistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Babycakes armistead maupin