HOME |
DINING |
MOVIES |
LIVE SHOWS |
ARTS |
UPCOMING EVENTS
ARCHIVES |
ABOUT |
ADVERTISE |
CONTACT |
DISTRIBUTION
entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
<<
Video Games
|
Main
|
Chef Suvir Saran
>>
|
|
|
by erin thursby
scopes1925@msn.com
WHAT: Local book signings
WHEN: this Friday, Saturday and January 13th
WHERE: Borders, The Bookmark and The Town Center Barnes & Noble
Local author Danté Amodeo recently sent his first novel over to EU, an action/adventure/espionage tale called Saban and the Ancient. Although aimed at a young teen audience, the book is complex enough for adults to enjoy. It’s won 1st place for the category of Action/Adventure by POW, a national organization called Promoting Outstanding Writers.
|
|
The hero of the book is the unassuming Saban, who gets caught up with an ultra-secret spy organization called “The Ancient.” Elements reminiscent of comic book heroes, a splattering of the paranormal, the spy genre and relationship complications, all merge to form a cleanly told story that is to be the first in a series. The book is rapidly gaining popularity, showing up on book shop shelves across Jacksonville. EU recently caught up with Danté Amodeo to ask questions about the series.
EU: What inspired you to write for this age range?
The “age range” is always a tricky question, because it LOOKS like a young adult book, but it’s not just that. I actually wrote the book to be escapism for adults, but back when I worked for Daniel Memorial as a child care worker, I could never find enough books about young adults that were pushing themselves to be the best they could be. So the book is ABOUT young adults, and it’s clean enough for young adults...but there are a lot of parts that only adults will appreciate.
EU: When will the next book be out? Can you give us a sneak peek into the plot?
I’m shooting for June 2007…As to the second book, there is definitely a mole on the team. Saban cannot fully trust his friends, and he’s not too sure about his boss, either. Meanwhile, the crystals DO come together, in Italy of all places, and when the big evil is released, we will have to see if the supernatural can be trumped by science or superior firepower. Perhaps both...perhaps neither.
EU: How have your many jobs prepared you for writing?
All of them, as far as being able to think quickly. In my younger, slightly unethical days, I bluffed my way into maybe half of my jobs, under the pretense of being “rusty.” By the time I shook of the supposed rust, I had learned how to do the job - kind of like a small-scale “Pretender”, except without the chiseled good looks, or good looks of any type, really. And no felonies committed.
EU: Are you planning on killing off any characters in the next book?
One character is in a bad situation, I’m trying to figure out a way for them to survive, but I’m not sure they logically can. I’m big into “Deus” but not so much the “ex machina.” Like real life, the mortality rate is still 100% no matter what, and the only factors are when, how, and the class with which you pass. So some people will not make it out of the series alive, I can assure you.
EU: What kind of research did you do to get the spy lingo down?
Well, I am prior military intelligence, but most of what I did was over twenty years ago. So I cheated a bit. See, John has been “off-grid” for twenty years or so, and Alpha learned what they know from him. So they all use the terminology he would use, which (not coincidentally) is the lingo with which I am familiar. Younger spooks would call it “old-school”, I’m sure, but you know, “no school like the old school!”
EU: What’s your favorite spy novel?
Oddly, I don’t read spy novels. Most real intelligence work is surprisingly relational and relatively gadget-free. I did wear out my copy of The Puzzle Palace. And I thought the Bourne movies were cute and engaging.
EU: What are you currently reading?
Hah! You might laugh: I like relational stuff. I just finished Boundaries by Drs. Townsend and McCloud. It’s an incredible book on embracing responsibility and learning when to say “no” to people who encroach on your time and space. And I’m about to start Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, a fantastic book about the dynamics of man/woman relationships. Don’t be surprised if you see some concepts reflected in the relationships of the series. And I’ll read a few others soon, and then I won’t read for a while. But when I read, I read quickly. When the fifth Harry Potter came out, I borrowed it from a friend and read it in a day. I would rather learn than be entertained. Hopefully my books will do both -philosophical discussions while dodging bullets. And the action is the vehicle for the relationships, not the other way around.
EU: If Saban were a chess piece, what piece would he be and why?
He would say a bishop or maybe a rook, but he’s beginning to understand that those pieces are just “talented” pawns. Even as nice as Saban is, he has no desire to be anyone’s pawn - much to the surprise of those who try to play him. And when he has had enough...well, I would leave the room. It won’t be pretty.
The author will be at two book signings this weekend December 29th at Borders on Southside, from 2PM to 5PM and Dec 30th at the Book Mark in Atlantic Beach, from 11AM to 1PM. He’ll also be at the Town Center Barnes & Noble on January 13th from 3-7PM.
|
|
