Interview & Giveaway with Dennis Willis author of Barca’s Jackpot

Books-n-Kisses would like to welcome new author Dennis Willis. Dennis is the author of Barca’s Jackpot.

Welcome Dennis. Thanks for stopping by BnK.
Have you always wanted to be an author?

I suppose. When I was younger, I thought I would author the great American screenplay! But I suppose every 20-year-old thinks they’re going to conquer the world. I backed into being a film critic, which I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to continue doing for over 20 years. The byproduct of that, is that I get to watch a lot of films and when you absorb that much content, you begin to not only spot trends, but get a pretty clear sense of what speaks to you creatively. I wrote or co-wrote a good 12 to 15 scripts over the years, some that are terrible, some that continued to poke around in my brain. One of those was Barca’s Jackpot, so after publishing a few books of movie reviews and commentary, I tried my hand at adapting my own screenplay into a novel.

Can you share with us your typical writing day. Is there anything you have to have while writing?

I don’t have a typical writing day. Much of what I do concerns radio production or editing (I produce a weekly radio show and am in pre-production on a film). So when I do sit down to write, it’s generally because I can’t stop thinking about what I’d like to work on. And also, having run my own business with a storefront in the past, I became adept at getting up to help a customer, holding on to my thought, and resuming once the customer left! I have an 8-year-old son, and believe me, that muscle comes in handy!

Most challenging or rewarding part of writing?

Well, I don’t have an ego in this fight. I know what I know, and it’s a little more than most, but I’m also acutely aware of what I don’t know, and that is where my thirst for knowledge comes in. The very first thing I did as soon as I was done with a first draft was to hand it off to colleagues who I knew would be honest with me about the work. I told them to tear it apart! The rewarding part, I suppose, is finding out that the work is decent.

Can you please tell us about your first book?

It’s about a guy who gets himself into a little bit of trouble! I love this character because he was a police officer who stuck around for one too many hands of poker with a gangster and ended up owing the bad guy money. So he’s a guy who has friends on both sides of the law, and is in a bit of a tight spot. I love that dichotomy of the character, & am thrilled about moving forward with future adventures.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

Believe it or not, it was in a dream and the first time and only time I ever woke up and wrote the idea down. It’s a scene in which one person is staking out a ballroom with a sniper rifle to do some damage, and realizing somebody else is there to do the same thing. I immediately found that idea intriguing, and the story took off after that.

Can you share with us your current work in progress?

I had so much fun with the first book that I immediately started thinking about second. But having seen so many horrible sequels as a film critic, and comparing those against the few that actually work, it’s more about starting with that list then an actual story. I’m big into theme and structure, and of course a list of don’ts. So it’s a question of continuing the forward path of the character without repeating yourself, changing the elements that the character has to navigate without altering things too much, but also about dramatically shaking things up. My favorite stories in a continuing series whether it be James Bond, Star Trek, or anything else is when something completely different or shocking gets my attention and makes me lean forward as a viewer or reader.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I was a huge fan of Elmore Leonard, and still am. My dad was a big crime fiction fan so there was an all there was always a copy of a John D. MacDonald novel, or Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, etc. around the house. I also appreciate strong writing in films and have found myself more attracted to who wrote the screenplay than the actors in some cases!

Do you feel that any of your favorite authors have inspired your writing style?

I’d be lying if I didn’t say Leonard. I’m also a huge fan of his book “10 Rules of Writing.” It’s a very handy guidebook to whittling away the fat to get to the actual story. He was fond of cautioning other writers about getting in the way of the story with their prose and I agree completely. Anything more than “He said” is too much.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

Thanks to the movie Cold in July, I just discovered Joe R. Lansdale and I’m reading that book. I’ll probably move on to the next five or six Lansdale novels after that.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Only that I think the 21st century is an amazing time for content creators. We have heard much about the demise of the printed book, and the retail bookstore. And to a degree, as there is evolution with everything else, walking into a bookstore is getting to be a rarefied thing. But I don’t believe that love of the written word will go away anytime soon, and I have always been a fan of removing the gatekeepers that keep the little guy out of the system. Now everybody has a chance to make an impression, and that is very exciting!

Bio:
Dennis Willis is an award-winning producer, editor, writer and film critic. He produced and co-hosted the TV programs Soundwaves, and Reel Life (later called FilmTrip) and anchors the weekly Flick Nation Radio show. In addition, he hosts the weekly radio features At the Movies and Home Media Guide.

He is a member of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association; and the director of All You Need is Myth: The Beatles and Gods of Rock.

ONLINE:
twitter.com/denniswillis
flicknation.net
thebarcafiles.com

If you didn’t see it on Monday check out Kimberly’s review of Barca’s Jackpot HERE

GIVEAWAY:
For a chance to win a signed copy of Barca’s Jackpot by Dennis Willis comment below or on the BnK Facebook page. Winner will be selected one week from today, Wednesday the 18th. Good Luck!