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Urban Reviews: Tell our readers about Gunmetal Black.
Daniel Serrano: Gunmetal Black is the story of Eddie Santiago, a Puerto Rican
parolee who goes back home to Chicago holding forty thousand he made
selling weed out of his prison cell. On his first night back he gets
stuck up. He spends the rest of the novel trying to get his money
back. Along the way he tangles with dirty cops, old enemies and bad
friends. He becomes a murder suspect and gets involved in a casino
heist. He has an affair with a Mexican beauty. His story ends in a
big, bloody climax.
Urban Reviews: Where did the idea for this novel come from?
Daniel Serrano: Gunmetal Black began with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. That story is about
a young man whose father, the King, is murdered and the aftermath,
the impact this tragedy has on Hamlet. I grew up in a single-parent
household in tough neighborhoods in New York City and Chicago. I
knew a lot of kids whose father’s were nowhere to be found. Many of
us were attracted to gangs and the street life. I began to envision
a loss similar to Hamlet’s happening to an urban kid like the ones I
knew from around the way, and an action-packed story began to
develop.
Urban Reviews: What do you ultimately want people to get from reading Gunmetal
Black?
Daniel Serrano: I want to take readers on an exciting trip. I want them to feel my
characters and to come away satisfied. There is a discussion guide
at the end of Gunmetal Black that encourages people to think about
the novel in literary terms, but it is very user-friendly, anybody
can read it.
Urban Reviews: How did you come to the decision to write a novel? What things
did you do to help prepare you on your journey?
Daniel Serrano: Growing up people listened to my stories of actual events. Someone
suggested that if I wrote, I might get paid. I liked the sound of
that, but didn’t get started for years, waiting for “The Muse.” One
day, I was watching Oprah. She had a panel of bestselling authors
and asked if they had advice for anyone wanting to get started. Anne
Rice told how she was working on a literature degree when she
realized that if she could analyze fiction, she could write fiction.
She dropped out and began Interview with a Vampire. A light bulb
went off in my head: writing is something that you decide to do. I
began to research books on “how to write” at the Harold Washington
public library, in downtown Chicago.
Urban Reviews: What are your goals when it comes to writing? Do you think it is
something you'd consider doing long-term, even without a major
behind it?
Daniel Serrano: I consciously make my books very cinematic and would love to see my
characters breathe on the big screen. But the main goal is to
produce fiction that resonates for people. Writing is difficult
work, much harder than my other profession, being a lawyer. But I
love it, and will continue to create complex stories with intriguing
characters whether somebody pays me for it or not. (Of course, I am
hoping that I continue to publish and to become a bestseller!)
Urban Reviews: Which of these things was harder to do: Write the book? Get the book
published? or Promote and Sell the book?
Daniel Serrano: Writing the book was definitely the most difficult. With work,
school, and a personal life, it was a constant struggle to find the
time and energy. I also suffered a major setback on 9/11 when I lost
three years’ worth of work because I kept it at my job inside the
World Trade Center. I started over and finished the manuscript by
2003, then left it in a closet for three years, I think because I
was afraid of rejection. In 2006 I realized that it is insane to
complete a novel and not publish. I put it in the overnight to an
editor, and she literally called me the following morning. This
started a chain reaction that led to me getting an agent and a deal
with Grand Central.
As for promotion, my book was just published a few weeks ago, so I
am barely getting started. It is a challenge, but it is also fun. I
have been blessed with some wonderful hits already, and the
publicists at Grand Central continue to work on their end, landing
me great opportunities like this one at Urban Reviews. I am excited
to see where it all leads.
Urban Reviews: Are you working on an upcoming project and when do you think it
will be released?
Daniel Serrano: I am currently completing another exciting novel, a murder mystery
titled Boogiedown. There is a preview of it in the back of Gunmetal
Black. Boogiedown features Cassandra Maldonado, a sexy, street-smart
NYPD Detective who investigates the murder of a hip-hop mogul. The
novel is the first in a planned series featuring Cassandra as she
investigates high profile crimes among the rich and famous while
dealing with her own private soap operas. Boogiedown drops in
September 2009 but major online booksellers are already taking
pre-orders!
Urban Reviews: Do you have any favorite authors or books that you enjoy reading?
Daniel Serrano: I go through phases. I’ve read a fair amount of mysteries, crime,
noir, writers like Dashiell Hammett and Ross MacDonald. Recently I
read a lot of police procedurals to prepare for Boogiedown. At
Shimer College, I read ‘classics’ like Homer and Dante. Ralph
Ellison’s Invisible Man and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye are
important. The Autobiography of Malcolm X should be required reading
for everybody in America, but especially if you are attracted to
urban lit. I like all kinds of stuff. People should read until they
find what they like. As a school-hating teenager the first book to
really fascinate me was The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, which
no teacher would have assigned. I read it over and over, the way my
friends and I kept watching Scarface, which trained my reading
muscle so I could later focus on less exciting stuff like casebooks
in law school. I would love it for Gunmetal Black to become that for
someone.
Urban Reviews: What has been the most unexpected thing to happen since the
release of Gunmetal Black?
Daniel Serrano: It was wild seeing my face and reading about my novel in newspapers
that I have relied on for years. I taped a couple of interviews for
TV and one for radio. But the most humbling experience has been
people sharing their personal reactions to my book. Already I have
gotten some extremely positive feedback, and it is very
motivational. Plus people have their own points of view and I am
learning things about my own novel. I feel blessed.
Urban Reviews: What else would you like to share with us about yourself or your
novel?
Daniel Serrano: I give all praise to God for opening the doors. Thanks reader, I
hope you go right now to your favorite online or “bricks and mortar”
bookstore and order your copy of Gunmetal Black. If you have any
friends who dig hot, action-oriented books they would like it too.
Be on the lookout for Boogiedown and drop me a line at my website
www.danielserranobooks.com or www.gunmetalblackthenovel.com, coming
soon. Thank you Urban Reviews!
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