THE LYON'S DEN by KYLE MICHEL SULLIVAN

From: Yummy of the Day

This is the novel that first introduced me to the work of Kyle Michel Sullivan. The Lyon's Den is a crazy roller-coaster filled with twists and turns... with a few upside down loops thrown in as well. But trust me, it's well worth the ride.

Synopsis

Daniel wanted to get back together with Tad, so he agreed to rewrite eight horrible scripts in time for them to be pitched as a new series for cable. If the network went for it, he'd get a week in Bermuda to rebuild their love. If he didn't, he'd lose the guy forever.

Only thing was, Tad wanted to keep the rewrites super-hush-hush, so he insisted Daniel use his family's empty, isolated cabin in upstate New York to work. Reluctantly, Daniel agreed, but as he was being driven to it, a massive snowstorm blew in ... and that "isolated cabin" wound up the center of mystery, suspense, sex, betrayal, revenge, murder, fist-fights, shredded clothes, frostbite, gunfire, predatory females, an obnoxious caretaker, a hermit who hates everything, an epic snowstorm, a hot shower with people who don't exist, a blazing fireplace, a bizarre shower curtain, off-key TV music, secrets heard in shadows, crooked politicians, romance with the proper stranger, and enough paranoid-schizophrenia to fill a mental institution.

All in the space of two hours on a Friday night.

Kyle was kind enough to give us a glimpse into the inspiration for his novel...

This story basically encapsulates my writing -- I talk to my characters and they often talk back, but they also help me find the story and lead me places I never thought I could go. That's why I have to write alone -- don't want to be dragged off to a padded cell before I'm truly ready.

I stole the basic story from a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, who wrote the Charlie Chan series. The original title was "The Seven Keys to Baldpate" and was pretty much a potboiler. George M. Cohan made it into a funky little play in 1913 and it's been made into a movie a couple of times. Since the book's in public domain, I thought I'd make a script that could be shot on the cheap. It wound up getting 4th place in the One in Ten Screenplay Competition, but never went anywhere. I also did it up as a play...but it works best as a book, because the whole process of writing is so very internal...and I get to explore that like crazy through my fictional character's fictional character (and that does make sense when you read the book).

To order your copy of The Lyon's Den, visit Direct Text Books orKoBo Books.

To learn more about Kyle Michel Sullivan, visit his blog, Jam the Cat.