R.J. McDonnell, Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. Joe Nardone’s Gallery of Sound (186 Mundy St., Wilkes-Barre). Free. Info: www.rjmcdonnell.com, 570.208.2833
When fiction writer R.J. McDonnell began writing “Rock & Roll Homicide” in San Diego nearly seven years ago, he was probably unaware that he would be back in his Scranton hometown years later promoting the book.
A full-time writer since 1983, McDonnell combines his literary prowess and his love for music to create a unique presentation at his book signings.
“People who go to book stores for signings just don’t seem to want to go there and say a few words to an author and walk off,” says McDonnell. “They want to be entertained.”
McDonnell will be doing a combination book signing and free concert at Joe Nardone’s Gallery of Sound on Thursday, Feb. 18. The presentation is designed to introduce guests to the characters in his Rock & Roll Mystery Series through songs performed in an unplugged format.
McDonnell, 56, holds degrees from Penn State and Marywood University. While in college, McDonnell played guitar in a few rock bands and upon graduation moved to San Diego to play music professionally. But in an ironic twist of fate, an accident he incurred a few months after arriving left him unable to play guitar for years.
Undaunted, McDonnell turned to his other love — writing. He went to work for a professional writing service and, in his spare time, penned comedy skits for “Kill Them with Comedy,” a local San Diego television show that had a “Saturday Night Live”-type format. And although McDonnell found success as a nonfiction writer, he did not forget his father, a Pennsylvania State Police detective, who acted as his mentor and inspiration.
“He introduced me to every crime drama show on television from the age of 6 on,” McDonnell explains. “He would critique these shows and give me a sense of what was real and what was Hollywood. That really helped me out a lot throughout my career.”
These early experiences, along with his interest in the mystery genre, fueled McDonnell’s imagination and provided the inspiration for his fiction.
McDonnell writes genre fiction that is peppered with humor, and appeals to both traditional mystery readers and rock ’n’ roll fans. He is a devoted reader of Rolling Stone magazine and weaves contemporary issues facing the music industry within his writing.
“There are some things that I’ll take and interpret and pass along to the more casual rock ’n’ roll fan,” he says. “They may be the type of person who goes up to Montage and sees a couple of concerts in the summer, and all of a sudden they’ll say, ‘Hey, I remember when I read that book! They were talking about this!’”
McDonnell wrote “Rock & Roll Homicide” — the first book of his Rock & Roll Mystery Series — in San Diego but moved back home to Scranton four years ago to take care of a family member who had cancer. The protagonist of the series, Jason Duffy, is a 27-year-old musician turned detective who can not seem to figure out what he should be doing with his life. This is a dilemma, McDonnell says, that is very real for many other people.
“I’m hoping that my audience can relate to (the characters) on some level,” McDonnell explains. “So often you tend to see these cookie-cutter characters in novels where you get into the fourth chapter, and you can predict what will happen the rest of the way through.”
Unlike literary fiction, which is focused more on character development and includes long descriptive passages, McDonnell loads “Rock & Roll Homicide” with drama and conflict that is intended to “entertain rather then to educate.” Readers learn about the characters’ motivations through the many situations they are presented with, and decisions they are forced to make. And, as McDonnell assures, there are plenty of relationship subplots that add tension and depth to the story. This is apparent, for example, in Duffy’s contentious relationship with his father.
“The difficulties that (Duffy) went through in his teenage years keep coming back and causing more problems for him later on,” says McDonnell. “It is really meant to show some of the ups and downs that families have.”
McDonnell continues more of Duffy’s adventures in “Rock & Roll Rip-off,” the second book of the series due out in April. A third book is in the works.
In the meantime, however, McDonnell is excited about bringing his characters to life through song, while introducing audiences and readers to his work in a unique way.
“What a better thing than to combine the things I love?” says McDonnell. “To get out and play and combine that with my story.”
w
| Tweet | Follow @wkdr |
|
|
