Hey Peeps!
Having Splitter here at The Unlocked Diary has been inspiring and also very informative into the mind of man. So I decided to be brave and yet again interview another man. What will we learn here today? Lots of stuff. Writing tips from another great writer, discussion about any mob presence in NY and what kind of flowers a guy ahould bring a woman.
Its all highly informative so I suggest you stick around. Today's guest is: Nicholas Denmon author of For Nothing and Mafia Crime thriller. I have read this book and it is great! So far it has been great great reviews (of course MY review is the BEST) and you should read it to see why.
Oh! I almost forgot the best part Nicholas has brought an Ebook for me to giveaway! That's right I now have several books up for grab! To refresh your memory I am running a giveaway that ends today for Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand, so jump over to that post and leave your name before its too late. I also have a copy (or two) of The Reluctant from our last Man Interview. If you would like a copy of Nicholas Denmon For Nothing leave your name at the bottom of the post. I will be announcing the winners on Wednesday.
Now that you know all the info read on to discover more about the most complicated species on Earth: Man.
See Nicholas:
Now "hear" what he has to say:
Your book, For Nothing, a Crime/Mystery novel has been getting some really great reviews (one of those being mine) so you must be really excited. Can you tell us when (and if) the sequel will be out?
I am very excited. You know when I decided to publish my debut novel I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if ten or twenty people read my novel? Wouldn’t it be great if one or two actually liked it?” Well the response has been better than I could have hoped. Your review was fantastic and I am sure it contributed to the hundreds of people who have decided to take a risk on a debut work. So thank you very much.
As for your question, yes there is a sequel. There will be at least two more books in the series An Upstate New York Mafia Tale and book two, Buffalo Soldiers, will be released October 15th. We follow the Ciancetta crime family once again and some of the fan favorites are back such as Rafael Rontego. There are also a bevy of new characters that take us deeper into the world of organized crime and all the adventure that entails.
2. Your book has a really interesting parallel between and assassin and an undercover cop. Which would you rather be, and assassin or a cop? Who do you think has more fun?
I think I would rather be a cop. At least then I wouldn’t be required to kill people unless it was necessary. Plus assassins has to really be on top of their game. One slip up and they get arrested or killed. It doesn’t quite seem like Rafael is having fun running from cops and narrowly escaping with his life time after time. It also doesn’t seem like Alex Vaughn has much fun either, between his shattered personal life and near death experiences. I think I will stick to being a writer!
3. If Spiderman and Superman got into a fight who do you think would win? Why?
Superman. Easily. He is stronger, faster, and can fly. He could probably break spider goo with his super-human muscles and he has a cape. Superman would dominate Spiderman…unless Spiderman had a pocket full of Kryptonite.
4. Boxers or Briefs?
Boxers. They are much more liberating and I have one pair that has lucky four-leaf clovers all over them. If I am playing sports, though, it becomes more practical to wear briefs.
5. Have you ever entered a food eating contest? If so, did you win? If not, do you think you could win one if you entered?
No I have not. My little brother does “food challenges” all the time. He once downed eight ounces of olive oil. The next day he called in sick to work and he swears that he sweat pure olive oil the next couple of days. I will leave the food contests to him.
6. I’ll give you one word and you say the first thing that comes to mind:
Revenge: The motive.
Beer: Bud Light Lime
Pineapple: Stay away from my pizza.
Writing: My calling.
Cupcake: Delicious.
Pink: Can I pull that off?
7. When you write do you write from an outline or just wing it?
Both. For Nothing was a novel I started by winging it but as the story grew more complex I outlined it on an old envelop. I have a medieval trilogy that is completely outlined. Buffalo Soldiers is a partial outline. I guess I have no set way of doing it but the first rule is always, “Get it on the page!”
8. What’s the worst first date you have ever had?
When I was in college I went on a date with a girl from one of my classes. I was really excited because we had that rare seamless witty banter combination that I find crucial. The date actually went fine but when I went home to Tampa the next week, about 2 hours south, I saw this same girl’s phone number on my brother’s desk on a napkin. Apparently, this girl and my brother met at a bar randomly and about two weeks before I asked her out. Although they were not dating, it instantly ruined my interest in her. I do like the story though because it shows how the Denmon charm is so strong it can attract a woman to whatever Denmon is in her local city. Also, the look on her face when I explained this to her was priceless. Poor girl.
9. You have six brothers and sisters. Did they ever beat you up? Did you ever beat them up?
Oh my yes. We used to fight all the time and then instantly be best friends again. My older brother shot me in the head with a Lego from a slingshot once. He loves that story as an example of his hunting prowess. I got him back with sneak attacks when he least expected it. Eventually though, I would form alliances with my younger brothers and we were able to fend him off until we were old enough to handle our own business. But by then we weren’t in the fighting age anymore anyway. We never really fought our sisters though. We were much more protective of them.
10. Who would you rather date: Snow White or Cinderella?
Cinderella because she is so down to earth. She has overcome quite a bit too so you know she is a strong woman. With Snow White you don’t really know what you are getting do you? I mean she gallivants with multiple dwarves at a time. She also falls for the evil Queen’s tricks time and time again. I’m gonna stick with Cinderella.
11. Did growing up in New York influence you to write a Mafia Crime Novel? Is there a strong presence of the mafia in NY today?
Large cities seem to have organized crime so I wouldn’t pin it all on New York. But older cities that have economic downturns also seem to generate more organized crime too, as steady jobs and work are harder to find. The mafia is still very much a force in cities like New York and Buffalo, even in cities you wouldn’t expect like Montreal and St. Louis. For a time Gary, Indiana was a criminal haven. I wrote a mafia novel because my family always loved mafia movies. We watched them with a sense of morbid fascination. It also didn’t hurt that several members of my family, the older generation particularly, had ties to organized crime. When you talk to Italians or especially Sicilians, you find that most know somebody who knows somebody who was involved in that kind of life. Most of us are completely against that lifestyle and almost all are perfectly fine upstanding citizens, but those wouldn’t make good crime thrillers would they?
12. Would you ever consider shaving your legs? Wearing eyeliner or painting your nails?
LOL. I thought of shaving my legs when I was a wrestler and I needed to cut weight to make my weight-class. I decided not to do it and am happy that I didn’t and never looked back. As for the other two, no and no. Though I bet my sisters would have loved for me to let them experiment with new nail polish colors on me.
13. When a woman says to you “It doesn’t matter, whatever you want.” What does she really mean?
Easy. She means, “You should know what I want and you should want to do that because you love me.”
14. When buying a woman flowers do you buy Roses or Daisies?
Depends on the woman of course. Some don’t like roses because they have thorns and thorns are bad. Other’s want the roses because they think daisies are cheap. I find that generally you can’t go wrong with flowers in any case, but I do like to find out what the woman likes first and then get those. It might even be lilies.
15. What was the hardest part about publishing a book for you? What was it like when you got that first shipment of books in the mail?
The hardest part was writing it and playing the waiting game for a while, then editing it after you already felt that the story was told. Then after all that I found out how much work was still needed! My favorite part is promoting it and getting fan feedback.
When I held my first novel, in print, I felt like I might tear up a bit. I’m sure it was sand or dry contacts or something, but my eyes were definitely a bit wet. It was a wonderful feeling.
16. Do you think men and women can just be friends?
Yes. I think you have to find someone of the opposite sex to be ‘just friends’ with. Otherwise you are shutting yourself out from an entirely different world perspective. Especially as a writer, how can I expect to know how a woman thinks if I don’t have any that are friends? Now I do notice that most of my female friends are at least moderately attractive. I am sure the two are not connected though.
17. Your book really got me thinking about law and cops and more specifically dirty cops. Do you think that undercover cops are lured into being dirty by the lifestyles that they are portraying? Do you think that the promise of an easy score is too tempting for under paid (most likely, frustrated) police officers? And (yes, there is an ‘and’) do you think you would be lured by the life of a gansta’?
I think that cops go dirty for a bunch of reasons. It really can be a thankless job. The money isn’t great and the respect factor goes in cycles. Also, when you are around ‘bad’ guys for a long time, the line between good and bad sort of blurs. Suddenly it is okay to be mostly on the side of good versus the side of bad. Unfortunately for our law enforcement personnel, that isn’t true. You are the line and because of that, the standards are much higher.
You know there was a time, when I was very young, that I thought I might be lured by easy money and the scene that is portrayed. But you realize very fast that movies versus reality are two different things. You also realize that freedom has a high price tag. Would you trade it for a couple of thousand dollars? A million? For me, freedom is priceless. That doesn’t even go into the moral implications which of course all point to avoiding that particular life style as well.
18. Is there anything that you wish women knew about men?
When we say we don’t care and “whatever you want” we mean it.
19. Would you rather go shopping with your significant other or go to the dentist?
Shopping. I don’t hate it, especially if there is the promise of lunch somewhere in the middle. But I definitely have a breaking point after about an hour or two. Let’s get the stuff and get out man!
20. Tell us where we can find your book and you here:
It is available in all e-reader formats including the Nook and Kindle.
It is also available in print if you order it from Barnes and Noble or you can order it on Amazon or Createspace.
You can find me on Twitter at @nicholasdenmon
21. Any last minute advice or anything else you want to share with us today?
Go read my book!
22. One more question, so humor me. Would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire?
A werewolf. I really don’t fancy drinking blood and killing humans. Plus isn’t dog man’s best friend?
Clearly, he's a smart man. :)
Thank you for being here and for answering all my questions. J And now here's a look at For Nothing.
Title: For Nothing
Author: Nicholas Denmon
Genre: Fiction, Mafia Crime Thriller
Format: E-book, Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1463567835
Alex Vaughn is a work-a-holic. He dedicates every hour of his day to bringing down the baddies, locking them up and tossing away the key. When his best friend Jack comes to him for help with a big secret meeting, Alex agrees to help.
But sometimes even the best of plans get derailed.
Unfortunately, this time someone ended up dead. When Alex looked down at his friend lying on the cold, hard pavement dead there was only one thing on his mind: Vengeance. And Alex knew just how to get it.
He decides to bring back his alter ego, a slick talking gangster, to go deep undercover and flush out his best friend’s killer. Little does he know that he is searching for one of the last old school professional killers to walk the streets. A man who has honed his craft into a finely tuned skill.
The stakes are high, and the time is limited. Alex has to take out this guy before his cover is blown, and he’s taken down. Little does he know that the mess he will be stepping into will be the biggest of his career.
This book was a departure from the paranormal/fantasy I usually read. That’s right, folks, no werewolves in this one. But you know? That’s okay. Why? Because this book didn’t need any werewolves or supernatural elements to make it good. And it is good. It has a whole bunch of other elements that make it good. What are these elements? Read on:
1. The writing. Clearly Nicholas Denmon knows how to write a sentence. His writing style is clear and concise. His use of detail and imagery was not gratuitous but leaves the reader with a clear and vivid picture of the characters surroundings as well as everything that was happening in the story.
2. The plot. This was a very well developed plot. It had to be in order for the story to be a success. The cast of characters was pretty big, considering the mafia and gangs in this book. There were sides to keep straight and alliances to remember. In order for the reader to know precisely who was with who, a very accurate account of what was happening was essential. It was done well. The lines were clearly drawn into the sand and the reader always knew which side they were standing on.
3. The characters. Ahh, my favorite part of the book. I enjoyed all of these characters. Even the shoot ‘em up, cut off your finger, stalk you while you sleep characters. In fact, they were my favorites. Hey, even gangsta’s need love too. Each character had a place in the story and his/her involvement was always evident. The two main characters of the story was the thing that kept me reading. I loved the dynamic between Alex and Rafael. True, the characters never really had any interaction, but the dynamic was still there. How thin the line between the law and the streets really is. If you never realized that before, you do now. The parallel between an undercover cop and an assassin in this book really struck me. They were just two guys trying to make it through the day in a dirty world. Sure, the assassin had his reasons for the life that he lived. So did the cop. But really, sometimes I wondered what made the cops any different than the people they were trying to bring down. The cops had to do things that made them just as dirty as the gangsters. So does that mean they get off free because the reasons they were doing them were in the name of the law?
That brings me to another thought. (As you can see this book really got me thinking…and now you all have to listen to me babble) The cops in this book (not all of them) turned dirty. Does that mean that the influence of unlawful behavior is addicting? Does that mean that the lure of an easy score (of cash) is too much temptation? Or maybe it means that the loyalty amongst thieves might be greater than that amongst the law upholders. It’s an interesting thought.
Anyway, back to Rafael and Alex. The book alternated between the two men. We see what Alex’s day was like and then see what the same day was like for Rafael. How closely these men’s days resembled each other. And how much their paths crossed without even recognizing the other. Frankly, the next book will be great because now they are aware of each other…now all bets are off. The ending of this book made me smile…it will probably make you smile too. If it doesn’t then that might mean that I will someday end up on the wrong side of the law…but don’t worry, if I do, you’ll likely never know. I learned a few things from old Rafael…in fact, I suddenly have an intense need to go out and buy a fedora and perch it on my head…
I saw one just the other day at Target in a lovely shade of blue.
Go out and buy this book, people. Read it. Think it. Even if this is a departure for you from your regular reads (like it was for me) you may find yourself enjoying it. There is a reason that For Nothing was nominated for Breakout Novel of 2011 by Good Reads, it deserves the nomination and any time that you have to read it.
So there you have it. My opinion.
Don't forget to leaver your name to be entered to win this GREAT book!!
Have a great day! My next post will include Men from Hollywood and TV. And yes, there will be pictures. :)
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