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On the run for homicides he did not commit, a mercenary secretly witnesses a superhero murder a young fan and cover it up. Angry at the double standard, he sets out to expose the 'hero' and the Twentyfirsters, the team of superhumans of which the murderer is a member.
Of course, justice has its costs.
Bon Carriker has gotten used to the life of a hired gun. The former federal agent re-evaluates his situation when he fails to prevent the death of a young man who was the same age as his estranged son. Adopting a masked identity and using his own talents, Carriker vows to stop the killer by infiltrating the Twentyfirsters. In the process, he sets a chain of events in motion that places the team on a violent collision course with their powerful enemies.
Bio
I received a Bachelors degree in media literacy from the University of Hawai'i with the intent of becoming an entertainment attorney. Drafting contracts wasn't as creative as making film shorts and commercials. Serving as a programmer at the Hawai'i International Film Festival and as the director of production at a local television station were the paid gigs that let me write my collection of unproduced screenplays. I'm mining them for use in future novels.
What will readers like about your book?
Everybody likes a thriller with a new take on a familiar subject. The novel proposes a world in which superhumans exist, some of whom are touted as public servants -- and they are hated as much as other celebrities. There is zero hero worship in this book. None.
Whereas superhero comic books and movies are always 'men-on-a-mission' stories, The Twentyfirsters is actually a cat-and-mouse game. That is what separates it from properties like The X-Men and The Avengers. Readers and audiences want a story that is a true departure from the norm. Conceivably, they could ask "What would happen if Superman decided to betray the Justice League because he discovered Batman murdered an innocent while Green Lantern and Wonder Woman did nothing to prevent it?" Of course, comic publishers would never authorize such an interpretation of their intellectual properties.
Bon Carriker has gotten used to the life of a hired gun. The former federal agent re-evaluates his situation when he fails to prevent the death of a young man who was the same age as his estranged son. Adopting a masked identity and using his own talents, Carriker vows to stop the killer by infiltrating the Twentyfirsters. In the process, he sets a chain of events in motion that places the team on a violent collision course with their powerful enemies.
Bio
I received a Bachelors degree in media literacy from the University of Hawai'i with the intent of becoming an entertainment attorney. Drafting contracts wasn't as creative as making film shorts and commercials. Serving as a programmer at the Hawai'i International Film Festival and as the director of production at a local television station were the paid gigs that let me write my collection of unproduced screenplays. I'm mining them for use in future novels.
What will readers like about your book?
Everybody likes a thriller with a new take on a familiar subject. The novel proposes a world in which superhumans exist, some of whom are touted as public servants -- and they are hated as much as other celebrities. There is zero hero worship in this book. None.
Whereas superhero comic books and movies are always 'men-on-a-mission' stories, The Twentyfirsters is actually a cat-and-mouse game. That is what separates it from properties like The X-Men and The Avengers. Readers and audiences want a story that is a true departure from the norm. Conceivably, they could ask "What would happen if Superman decided to betray the Justice League because he discovered Batman murdered an innocent while Green Lantern and Wonder Woman did nothing to prevent it?" Of course, comic publishers would never authorize such an interpretation of their intellectual properties.
Why did you self publish?
This genre mash-up would have been too difficult for a publisher to market to the existing affinity groups for thrillers and superhero actioners. It would have demanded rewrites that killed its significance. So I assumed the publishing and marketing duties in order to find like-minded readers. It has met with some success: I am working with a producer who is currently shopping the book's film rights around Hollywood.
What is your writing process? How long does it take you to write your first draft?
The reductive method. I tried the additive method (find the plot in the process of writing) and the deductive method (build the novel in accordance to the outline). I had more success by amassing a huge pile of ideas and characters, identifying the stakes in the story, and stripping out everything that doesn't work. Which is why the first draft of The Twentyfirsters took nine months. But I believe this makes it a richer reading experience.
What inspired you to write this particular story?
I'm surprised no one had done it yet. It's a great premise. I suppose the story does parallel the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo (and, by extension, A Fistful of Dollars andLast Man Standing), but that was a happy coincident.
Excerpt
While inbound to the safehouse, Carriker asked Zoya to deploy a program that would data mine for chatter regarding Warren or Akili Hubbard. She could feel his anger emanate through the phone. The refrigerator and pantry were stocked now, and she had purchased a bottle of wine and some Italian take-out. Hopefully, that would alleviate his distress. However, she neglected to mention to him that she changed the code to the sentry box, so Carriker had to pound on the front door to be let in.
“What did you find, Zo?”
“Ten minutes after I called 911, a toll booth camera caught him taking the interstate. Hubbard never saw the inside of a squad car.”
“Damn it! This is the second time I’ve watched him dodge the law!”
“Calm down, Bon…”
“A lot of agents – good people – risked their careers to build that case against him!”
“So what? You gonna smoke him?”
“Bastard deserves worse. Akili, Heldontenor, Ducain, The Armoury…I hate fucking superheroes!”
Are you a Indie author? Would you like to be interviewed for this blog? You can!
This genre mash-up would have been too difficult for a publisher to market to the existing affinity groups for thrillers and superhero actioners. It would have demanded rewrites that killed its significance. So I assumed the publishing and marketing duties in order to find like-minded readers. It has met with some success: I am working with a producer who is currently shopping the book's film rights around Hollywood.
What is your writing process? How long does it take you to write your first draft?
The reductive method. I tried the additive method (find the plot in the process of writing) and the deductive method (build the novel in accordance to the outline). I had more success by amassing a huge pile of ideas and characters, identifying the stakes in the story, and stripping out everything that doesn't work. Which is why the first draft of The Twentyfirsters took nine months. But I believe this makes it a richer reading experience.
What inspired you to write this particular story?
I'm surprised no one had done it yet. It's a great premise. I suppose the story does parallel the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo (and, by extension, A Fistful of Dollars andLast Man Standing), but that was a happy coincident.
Excerpt
While inbound to the safehouse, Carriker asked Zoya to deploy a program that would data mine for chatter regarding Warren or Akili Hubbard. She could feel his anger emanate through the phone. The refrigerator and pantry were stocked now, and she had purchased a bottle of wine and some Italian take-out. Hopefully, that would alleviate his distress. However, she neglected to mention to him that she changed the code to the sentry box, so Carriker had to pound on the front door to be let in.
“What did you find, Zo?”
“Ten minutes after I called 911, a toll booth camera caught him taking the interstate. Hubbard never saw the inside of a squad car.”
“Damn it! This is the second time I’ve watched him dodge the law!”
“Calm down, Bon…”
“A lot of agents – good people – risked their careers to build that case against him!”
“So what? You gonna smoke him?”
“Bastard deserves worse. Akili, Heldontenor, Ducain, The Armoury…I hate fucking superheroes!”
Are you a Indie author? Would you like to be interviewed for this blog? You can!
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