My apologies to Jeff Conway. I was supposed to review his book Dead But Not So Buried on the release date…Feb. 15(check out the 5Ws for the sweet reason why that’s the release date!). Alas, life got in the way. But here I am, a day(week) late and a dollar short. What does that even mean? Anyway, here it is and believe me, it was worth waiting for.
Dead But Not So Buried
Author: James L. Conway
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Camel Press (Feb. 15, 2012)
Synposis:
Hollywood is rocked when someone breaks into the crypt of a 60′s movie star and kidnaps her corpse. Dubbed the Gravesnatcher by the press, the madman then holds tinsel town hostage as he uses extortion, blackmail and murder to extract his own brand of revenge.
And caught in the middle is quick-witted PI Gideon Kincaid, an ex-cop with a troubled past who is led on a harrowing roller coaster ride through the sun- and sin-drenched Hollywood landscape.
But Gideon’s not alone. There’s the tough as nails cop assigned to the case. Unfortunately, she’s Gideon’s ex-wife and hates him. And there’s the beautiful starlet who Gideon has to protect. Any red-blooded detective would want to sleep with her; unfortunately for Gideon, he already has. And it didn’t go so well. In fact, she’s terrified of him. And there’s his assistant, the adorable Hillary. She wants to be a PI like her boss. She’s also got a huge crush on him. And that never works out well. In fact, it could kill her.
As the Gravesnatcher works his way through his own personal enemies list, Gideon is in a race against time to stop him. Can he put a stop to this crime spree before Gideon himself ends up dead and very buried?
Review:
Conway has shades of Dashiell Hammett going for him which sets up a great mood for the book. Gideon is a tough guy… but not that tough. He’s distracted by a pretty face (several pretty faces actually) and tortured by his past. This is a story that could only happen in Hollywood, it’s like a story that happens on Mars the people and attitudes are so…unusual.
I have to admit the switches from one point of view to another took a bit of getting used to but once you get into the flow it’s easier to follow along with each character’s part of the story. The best part was Conway’s KAPOW moments. You’re reading along thinking, “Yep, I know what’s going to happen” when KAPOW, out of the blue something totally unexpected. And Conway has not just one or two KAPOW moments but a series of unexpected right hooks just when you aren’t looking for them. He kept me guessing right up until the end.
I’d love to read another one of Gideon’s Hollywood adventures.
WHY
Why did you decide to try your hand at novel writing? Is it different from screen writing?
I’ve been an avid reader since I was a kid. I read mostly adventure (Jack London) and science fiction (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells,) then in my twenties I discovered Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and John D. McDonald. I was hooked. I’d found my genre.
I started writing as a kid. Eighth grade. And continued writing through high school and college. I went to the University of Denver, studying Mass Communications. And after graduation I bounced around a few jobs in Denver (working for a local company doing commercials and industrial films) and Tampa, Florida (designing movie trailers for a film distribution company).
But I wanted to get to Hollywood. Instinctively I knew writing would be my key. So I wrote a novel.
I got a call right after I finished the book from a producer I’d worked for in Denver who had just sold a TV series to NBC and he wanted me to come work with him. The series was The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, it was very successful and my Hollywood career was launched.
I never got that first book published (a dark comedy about the President of the United States going crazy). But I’d loved writing it and promised myself I’d write another one as soon as possible. I made lists of story ideas, titles, characters.
But I never had the time. Thankfully, I had a very successful career as a writer/producer/director and it wasn’t until about 18 months ago that I said, okay. Now is the time. Write the book. And I followed the first rule of writing: write what you know. Hollywood.
Writing a novel is very different than writing a screenplay. They both start with character, to be sure. But most screenplays are driven by dialogue. Description is kept to a minimum. A feature script should never run more than 120 pages. Very restrictive, to say the least.
A novel, on the other hand, allows the writer to linger on description, mood, setting. You can dig into characters inner thoughts and feelings. You can take as long as it takes to tell your story.
I relished the freedom and had a ball writing Dead and Not So Buried.
WHAT
What lessons did you learn in your many years in Hollywood that helped you with writing and publishing your debut novel?
The most important thing I learned in Hollywood was discipline. I was head writer on six different TV series and scripts are due every 8 days. No excuses. So I learned to get up early and write for 2 hours a day before going to the studio. I did that almost every day for twenty years. It’s become a habit. I still get up early and do most of my writing in the morning.
One of the toughest things about writing a novel for me was the lack of a deadline. For so many years I had to have a script ready by a certain date. But I had no deadline for the book. I found myself lacking a bit of that discipline I’d learned over the years. So I gave myself goals: outline by such and such date. Chapter 1-4 by such and such date. And that helped. I needed the structure of a deadline (even an artificial one).
WHERE
Where do you do your writing? As I drink hot chocolate and battle frigid northeast winds (not much snow this year), I like to picture you under a palm tree next to a pool in glamorous LA hills. How close am I to the truth?
You are very close. I write in my home office. Outside the window I see three wonderful palm trees. I do live in the hills. Woodland Hills to be exact, in the San Fernando Valley. The pool is in the backyard, though. It is currently a bit cool (for LA), 65 degrees.
WHO
Who is your inspiration? Another author? An actor? Your mom?
Wow, I never really thought about my inspiration. I was always ambitious and full of dreams. And initially I think that came from my parents. Without getting all Freud on you, they were very strict, very critical people. And I felt like I had to prove something to them.
Now, I find inspiration from other writers I admire. And my family. My wife, Rebecca (31 years on Feb 15, the publication date) and my two daughters.
WHEN
When will we be seeing another effort by you? Will Gideon return?
I’m just finishing another book now and hope to publish it in September. It is a stand-alone. Gideon’s next adventure it on the storyboard. I’ll write it next and plan to have it out early next year.
