Today's guest wears many hats, but we'll get to know him as mystery novelist, David Flynn, as he tells us a bit about his debut novel, The Whisper Man.
During his tour, David will be giving away a DVD of THE UNDYING, a movie he wrote and produced, to a lucky commenter. To be entered for a chance to win use the form below.
Bio:
David Flynn
has worked as a writer and actor (under the screen name Patrick Flynne) and is
a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and
Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA).
He has also
performed as a spokesperson in numerous industrial films and television
commercials, as a voiceover artist in radio broadcast commercials and as an
English language narrator, editor and writer for several series on Ebru-TV, a
Turkish company currently broadcasting on the Internet.
David has
written 18 screenplays, including THE WAR CHANNEL, a Bronze Award Winner for
Best Dramatic Screenplay at the Worldfest/Houston International Film Festival. This
script was optioned by the Auerbach Company at Columbia TriStar Television. He
has also co-authored two screenplays, one a Silver Award Winner for Best
Dramatic Screenplay at Worldfest.
His recently produced screenplay, the supernatural thriller THE
UNDYING (www.theundyingfilm.com) starring
Robin Weigert, Wes Studi and Jay. O. Sanders is now in distribution domestically by
MTI and internationally by Inferno Films. Under its original title, THE BRIDE
OF DREAMS, the screenplay was one of fifteen semifinalists (out of a total of
3900 entrants) for a Nicholl Fellowship, a screenwriting competition sponsored
by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The
Nicholl is considered to be the most prestigious screenwriting competition in
the industry.
His novel The Whisper Man is the first in a series
of mysteries that focus on unusual crimes and criminals in New York City.
Welcome,
David. Please tell us about your current release.
Sex, vanity, and psychology are the
weapons a sociopath named David Barry uses as he kills for money in The Whisper Man.
David's prey - and profit - are the
wealthy of New York City, with
each murder crafted to look like a suicide, an accident or the work of another,
but always with the goal of increasing David's balance sheet. When a close
friend of Manhattan ADA Joseph Kane dies at the apparent hand of his wife, Kane
refuses to believe in her guilt. He investigates the recent deaths of several
prominent and wealthy New Yorkers and decides there may be an undiscovered
killer behind them.
Kane develops a prime suspect and
triggers a battle of wits with the brilliant and arrogant David Barry who must kill again, not for profit
this time but to protect his identity. The jealousy of Kane's insecure wife and
conflicts with his boss become the tools David will use to destroy his
adversary.
What inspired you to write this book?
I worked in
luxury real estate development in Manhattan for a number of years and came
across a wide cross section of well-to-do New Yorkers both in business and in
social settings. The wealthy can hire bodyguards and forensic accountants but it
occurred to me that the more wealth one might have the more vulnerable one’s life
and fortune might be to a totally unimagined threat.
Excerpt:
Later,
witnesses at the scene would describe the young Latino with the greasy hair
under the tightly tied “do-rag” who ran from the scene of the accident. They
would describe the puffy jacket and hoodie he was wearing, the baggy jeans and
the large Nikes with the shoelaces loosely tied in the street fashion of the
day.They would point north on Eleventh Avenue and east on 29th Street where
they saw him run. It all happened so quickly and so unexpectedly. That was all
the Police would have to go on.
#
The driver of the Cadillac stopped
running as he turned onto 30th Street after crossing Ninth Avenue. He slowed
his pace to a street swagger until he reached the narrow opening between two
buildings. He glanced around quickly before slipping into the alley. Sure that
he was not being observed, he stripped off the jacket and the hoodie and threw
them on top of a garbage can. Next he slipped off the oversize sneakers and the
baggy jeans, and they followed the jacket onto the garbage can. He was
confident that within a couple of hours they would be found by a bum or an
addict and sold to someone else for the price of a few hours of diminished
consciousness. Recycled into the city’s economy, they would never be identified
as the clothes of a hit and run driver.
Underneath
the Nikes he wore slender white tennis shoes. Finally, he slipped the do-rag
from his head and used it to wipe the grease from his face and ditched it in a
different trash can. David Barry, wearing a buttoned down shirt, crew neck
sweater, khakis and an attitude of innocence, walked out of the alley and over
toward Eighth Avenue.
David decided that his plan had gone
so well that he would take a leisurely stroll back to the scene of the accident
and look over his handiwork before going out for dinner. By the time he reached
26th Street, a considerable crowd had gathered and was being held back on the
south side of 27th Street. He joined the crowd and slowly worked his way to the
front of the group. He watched the actions of the Police and the EMT team for
about ten minutes before finally deciding on Thai food.
What exciting story are you working on
next?
I’m now
working on The Mischief Man, the
second story in a series about unusual New Yorkers involved in crime.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
This might
sound corny, but it was right after I kissed the Blarney Stone. Up ‘til then
the only writing I had done was business related. When I returned from Ireland
my young daughter brought home a story about the Jersey Devil, a folk myth set
in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey. I thought it would make an interesting movie
so I wrote a screenplay that was rejected by agents and producers alike.
Reading it over I realized it was bad and I needed to educate myself in the art
of writing for the screen. The next story I wrote was the supernatural romantic
thriller, The Undying. It did so well
in the Nicholl Fellowship that I started writing and writing and writing. Most
stories felt right for the screen, but THE WHISPER MAN just felt like a story
that needed to be told in print.
Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?
I write
when I’m not working as an actor or voiceover artist. A typical writing day
usually begins by reviewing what I’d written the day before, using that as a
springboard for the day’s efforts.
What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I most
enjoy making sure that every character has his or her own voice. I draw on my
stage experience to think about each character’s actions and motivations and
try to make sure that comes out in their words and actions on the page.
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
A diplomat.
It took me a few years to realize I would be terrible at it and I’m glad I came
to my senses before college.
Anything additional you want to share
with the readers?
Play golf
and ride a motorcycle – two of God’s greatest gifts to the human spirit.
Thank you, David!
Readers, don't forget to use the form to enter for a chance to win the DVD!
Thank you for hosting today:)
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