...in like a wrecking ball...
Discover more from Lawrence Allan Writes.
Hello Chum!
Welcome and thanks for subscribing to this newsletter. It’s the first of what I hope is many more to come, but not at an annoying amount. Like, a once a month amount. Maybe twice if I got some hot gossip to drop.
We got a lot coming at us from all sides, so I honestly appreciate that you have willingly added one more thing. And my thing no less.
First up…WHY.
Why is this thing called Lawrence Allan Writes? What’s with the verb, Larry? Why is it just hanging out there?
‘Cause it’s a call to arms. Metaphorically, of course.
Seeing Lawrence Allan Writes reminds me that I’m someone who writes. And I have to sometimes remind myself because… writing is hard. Not ditch digging hard, but hard nevertheless. Staring at a blank page in the wee hours of the morning wondering what the fuck have I done with me life? That kind of hard.
That’s when it’s good to remember: I write.
(Someday if I write a book on how to write, it’ll be called Writing Sucks. Make shelf space for it now.)
What about the BOOK, Larry?
Right. The book. This one…
Big Fat F@!k-Up is the first in a series of mystery novels about Jimmy Cooper, a former child star and recovering addict who gets a second shot at fame as a “famous” private detective in Los Angeles.
Origins!
One time on a longish flight, I was thinking about the next thing to write and I asked myself, “What’s a terrible idea?”
I had spent a lot of time trying to think of “good ideas.” Maybe it would be worth spending time looking at terrible ones.
As some neurons clicked on an idea, I started giggling at the thought of pitching to a network, “A former child star as a private detective.” It was such a terrible idea — could you imagine their faces? — I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And then… as I kept thinking about it… maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all…
So the idea became a TV pilot that was one of the best things I have written. It never found a home and so it gets a new life as a book.
And you, dear friend, get a chance to read the first chapter of that book…
Big Fat F@!k-Up will be available as an e-book and a print on demand — think of it as a copy made just for you. On Amazon it will be an e-book exclusive for three months (all you Kindle Unlimited readers take note) and then widely after that.
I will reach out to you all with pre-order links as soon as I have them… or follow me on twitter (@writeLarrywrite) and they will be there too!
And I encourage you to seek out your local book store to see if they can order you a copy. I think I got it right so they can do that… *crosses fingers*
Book recommendation!
Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark is a banger of a book.
I’m a character first kinda guy and this book was my jam. Trevor Finnegan, a Black detective in the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, is asked to investigate the murder of a Black police academy recruit. The book is set pre-pandemic, while the calls for racial justice are loud and vocal, and the public has an eye on police violence.
Obviously, there’s an intersection of mystery and the political, and the main character sits at that crossroads.
Actually, I shouldn’t call it a crossroad. The main character is placed in a crucible — which, yeah, all great books do. As Trevor investigates, he keeps examining his own place as a Black man on the force, what he did to get into Robbery-Homicide, and what the future might look like for him.
It’s a great examination of a complicated character in a very charged time. It was a page turner for me. Go out and get yourself a copy, there’s a link above if you want to order it online or ask your local bookstore to order a copy for you.
Until next month!
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