Hollywood to writing novels- the evolution of my writing with John Lansing- and a Kindle Giveaway

There may not be vampires or paranormal activity in, “The Devil’s Necktie,” but I think there’s enough sex, drugs and murder to keep things interesting.

I didn’t grow up dreaming about being a writer. It wasn’t even on my short list. But now in hindsight I do think writing books was a natural evolution from my time spent working in Hollywood. 

My acting career helped inform the characters I wrote for, and about, and created, in my television work. The craft of acting helped me understand the emotional roadmap needed to flesh out complex characters, characters that will hopefully be compelling enough to maintain a reader’s interest. 

My television work taught me discipline, writing on a schedule, collaboration, and it really hammered home the type of characters I enjoyed and wanted to invest my time with, characters that were interesting enough for me to spend a year of my life with, and again, hopefully keep an audience reading. Only you can tell me if I’ve succeeded at that and I look forward to hearing from you.

The most difficult part of my transition from television to novels was the writing itself. I had a wonderful partner, Bruce Cervi, who I co-wrote all of my television and film projects with, but now I was on my own. Just me, my computer, and my twenty-four pound poodle named Lucky.

The joy of writing my first novel was not having to adhere to a formula created by a television Pilot episode. I had total freedom to explore the psychology and behavior of not only my primary characters, but also my secondary tier. And I didn’t have to worry about satisfying a star’s ego or writing to commercial breaks.

I’ve always been drawn to flawed characters that were interested in reinventing themselves, who wanted a new life. Maybe because I’ve had such a varied career myself. I grew up in middle class suburbia. People worked for the same corporation or company, had the same vocation for their entire lives. Well that doesn’t fly anymore. We can all look forward to experiencing three or four different careers in our lifetime. 

I wanted to write about a detective who was on the verge of change, who was recovering from a nasty divorce, retiring from the NYPD, leaving Staten Island, and starting over. The old Yiddish proverb pretty much nails it. “Men make plans, God laughs.” My protagonist, Jack Bertolino, chose to do all of those things; it just didn’t quite work out the way he planned. Twenty-five years of taking down drug dealers, money launderers and killers came back to bite him in the ass, and shook up his newfound sense of bliss in Marina del Rey, California. That was enough of a hook for me to write “The Devil’s Necktie.”





March 15 Tour Intro/Guest blogFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
March 15 Spotlight/ExcerptMila Ramoswww.jademystique.blogspot.com
March 16 InterviewPembroke Sinclair.  pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com
March 17 SpotlightLavender & Camomile Presslavenderandcamomilepress.com
March 18 InterviewLaurie's Non-Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews  http://lauries-interviews.blogspot.com
March 18 SpotlightNoelle BlakelyShare My DestinyHttp://sharemydestiny.blogspot.com
March 20 Guest blogJill Archerhttp://www.jillarcher.com/
March 21 InterviewBooks, Books the Magical Fruithttp://booksbooksthemagicalfruit.blogspot.com
March 22 SpotlightPure Textualityhttp://puretextuality.com
March 23 Guest blogThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
March 24 SpotlightRoxanne’s Realmwww.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
March 26 SpotlightSapphyria's Book Reviewssaphsbookblog.blogspot.com
March 27 Guest blogpwcreighton.com/surveillance-report/
March 30 reviewBookworm Babblings – http://inspirationsbysimone.blogspot.com
April 1 Guest blogwww.christina-mcknight.blogspot.com
April 2 Guest blogButterfly-o-Meter Bookshttp://butterflyometerbooks.blogspot.com/
April 4 Guest blogMama Knows Books http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com  
April 9 SpotlightFrankie Blooding's Bookshelfhttp://frankieblooding.wordpress.com/
April 10 SpotlightParanormal book clubwww.paranormal-bookclub.com
April 11 ReviewAll Fantasy Worldswww.allfantasyworlds.com
April 12 InterviewCloey's Book Reviews and Other Stuffcloeyk.blogspot.com
April 15 FeatureBewitching Book Tours Magazinewww.issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours

The Devil’s Necktie
John Lansing
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Publisher: Gallery Books, Simon&Schuster/Karen Hunter Publishing
ISBN: 10:1451698348ASIN: BOO7Z40FOY
Number of pages: 384Word Count: 89,520
Amazon      Simon and Schuster    Barnes and Noble                            Book Description:
A Sizzling thriller for fans of James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. An exciting tour into the real-life world of cops, crime, and murder. Retired inspector Jack Bertolino had strict rules when dealing with confidential informants. But Mia had the kind of beauty that could make a grown man contemplate leaving his wife, his job, and his kids. After a passionate night together, Mia is found murdered – and Jack is the lead suspect. Facing threats from the LAPD, the 18th Street Angels, and a Columbian drug cartel, Jack delves deeper into the seedy world of drug dealers and murderers and discovers that the top players knew Mia personally. And now Jack is torn between fearing for his life and seeking revenge for his slain lover…either way, the body count will rise.
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkyDF7KNdJ8


About the Author :
John Lansing started his career as an actor in New York City. He spent a year at the Royale Theatre playing the lead in the Broadway production of “Grease.”
He then landed a co-starring role in George Lucas’ “More American Graffiti,” and guest-starred on numerous television shows.
During his fifteen-year writing career, Lansing wrote and produced “Walker Texas Ranger,” co-wrote two CBS Movies of the Week, and he also co-executive produced the ABC series “Scoundrels.” John’s first book was “Good Cop, Bad Money,” a true crime tome with former NYPD Inspector Glen Morisano.
The Devil’s Necktie  is his first novel.
A native of Long Island, John now resides in Los Angeles.
http://www.john-lansing.com/
https://twitter.com/jelansing
https://twitter.com/DevilsNecktie
https://www.facebook.com/john.lansing.39
https://www.facebook.com/devilsnecktie



a Rafflecopter giveaway