50 Cent to produce new line of hip-hop novellas, novels

New York – 50 Cent will again turn his reality into fiction with a new line of hip-hop novellas and graphic novels featuring his former G-Unit rap crew buddies, a publisher has announced.

Pocket/MTV Books promised the venture would showcase “gritty” stories and cover the same terrain as 50 Cent’s raps.

“These tales will tell the truth about The Life; the sex, guns and cash; the brutal highs and short lives of the players on the streets,” the publisher said in a release.

The G-Unit Books line of street fiction will feature G-Unit members Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Young Buck and Olivia as characters, the release said.

Nikki Turner, author of “The Glamorous Life” and “A Hustler’s Wife,” will write the line’s first novella.

Scotty’s ashes to head into orbit as part of last wishes

Toronto – When Scotty’s ashes head into orbit next year, his fans can send their best wishes along for the ride.

James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott of the Starship Enterprise in the original “Star Trek” TV series and subsequent movies, died at his Redmond, Wash., home in July at age 85.

The Vancouver, British Columbia-born actor had told relatives he wanted his ashes blasted into outer space, as was done for “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry.

Some of Doohan’s ashes will be launched some time in February or March from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, said Susan Schonfeld, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Space Services Inc., which has been arranging memorial space flights for several years.

Details will be posted online at www.spaceservicesinc.com – where Scotty’s fans can also post a few words of tribute that will be digitized and sent up as part of the Falcon 1 rocket’s payload.