Thank you to the Author’s Lounge for offering me the opportunity to discuss my writing journey and my most recent book, A BRUTAL MIX OF BLOOD AND GOLD, the second book in the CORDON FINN VENGEANCE Series.
I love writing Cordon Finn. He’s damaged, complex, loyal, and has a moral code as thick as his biceps. I find writing him a gift. And the dark action at the core of the series has been a real kick for me, as this 40 year writing journey has brought me to this diverse group of characters in the ass-kicking novels. All of whom I’ve fallen in love with, none more than Cordon.
I’ve been blessed to make my living writing for about 40 years now. And I truly mean that. It is a blessing. Writing professionally for me began in the theater. It was fortuitous that I had two plays go up almost back-to-back in Los Angeles. And that the plays attracted a cast of working actors from television and film, which guaranteed an audience. And attracted interest from film producers. I sold the movie rights to my play, RELAY, to Warner Bros., and that pushed me from struggling writer to paid writer. I spent the next 30 years of my life writing for film and TV. Being from a working class family,
I went where the jobs were. And I’ve wrote my ass off. If I wasn’t working on a paid TV or film gig, I was penning a spec screenplay. I was always writing, a work ethic I have to this day. And I built a nice resume of produced credits, including two feature films, eleven movies for television and four series episodes. There is also a litany of other scripts bought by studios or networks that have died on the vine. And even more scripts I wrote that I have piled up in the corner.
That’s the life of a screenwriter, you write and write and write, and only a sliver of your work actually makes it to the screen.
But you write. And you keep writing.
After a particularly horrible project I wrote, with unscrupulous producers, who still owe me money, I hit a wall. I had to shake up my life. That came in the form of writing a novel. I loved the concept of writing a book. Unlike a movie, no one would come in and change things. No one would interpret what I wrote. It was me and the blank page. The idea I had was highly emotional, and I spent about three months writing a first draft. Crying and laughing daily. I’ve always believed if what I write doesn’t make me laugh, doesn’t make me cry, doesn’t scare me, it can’t possibly have that effect on a reader. The result was my first novel, HONEYMOON WITH HARRY. While in galleys, the movie rights sold to New Line Cinema for three-quarters of a million bucks, with stars and name directors circling. But with all that hoopla, it’s never made it to the screen. Hollywood…
But I was off to an auspicious start as a novelist.
I’m now writing my nineth novel, Book #3 in the CORDON FINN VENGEANCE Series, HUMAN WRECKAGE. I’d never written a book series (there are three HARRY books but two are sequels, it’s not a traditional series), but I am at a point in my life where I can spend more time writing what I want, and I’m loving spending time with Cordon Finn. I relish writing the dark action with loads of ass-kicking violence, and being able to work in message within the madness.
In TV and film business, my reputation is as a guy who writes touching, heartfelt scripts with a lot of humor and a lot of tears. The last film of mine that was produced was LOVE AND SUNSHINE for the Hallmark Channel. Enough said. Writing Cordon Finn allows me to balance out the lighter material with something dark and filled with action, yet still has the powerful emotional punch that is the personal trademark in all my work.
Balancing a career in screenwriting with writing novels is always a juggling act. So far, I’ve managed. I intend to keep writing Cordon Finn, delving into the psyche of this damaged character on his dark, action-filled adventures, while working for the networks and film companies, writing movies that people love. I even co-wrote a graphic novel which is presently at the ‘art’ stage. How blessed am I that I’ve been able to write in so many different spaces? Working in businesses that allows me to meet so many fascinating people. And best yet, I’ve managed to raise my sons while doing a job I absolutely love.
Looking back after forty years, I recognize the blessings that writing has brought me. Be in watching my words being spoken on a stage, sitting with a roomful of other people watching what I’ve written on a screen, up to now, spending time with Cordon Finn storming around in my head, creating a book series that readers are responding to.
Yeah, I’m blessed. Because I write.
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