Elvis Costello agrees to two-book deal

NEW YORK (Jazz online magazine) - Elvis Costello has agreed to a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster, but don't expect any juicy music industry gossip.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the publisher said Costello had "resisted the rewards for writing a traditionally scurrilous and scandalous biographical memoir."
The first book, scheduled for fall 2005, will be a "series of intimate narrative chapters taking their cue from the styles, themes and characters found in a number of Costello's lyrics."
The second book will be a "work of comic philosophy" titled "How to Play the Guitar, Sing Loudly and Impress Girls... or Boys."