Question 1

You wrote the script for Snakes On A Plane, right?

Accepted Answer

The spec script, yes. Enough said about that experience.

Question 2

Do you still write screenplays?

Accepted Answer

Now and then, though the process of getting a script to screen is even more irrational than finding a lit agent.

Question 3

Why are the stories written in first person?

Accepted Answer

The first thing I did needed to was figure out who Flynn might be, so I wrote the introduction in third person. I immediately realized that Flynn should describe himself  to provide the reader a good idea of who Flynn thinks he is right off the bat.

Question 4

Why write stories about a private detective during the Depression, of all things?

Accepted Answer

I've always loved film noir and the works of James Cain and others of his ilk. The Depression was a period of immense societal upheaval and I thought the era would be a good grist for my creative mill, so to speak. What I learned in my research was that many events of that time resonate with the present and I tried to touch on those in the two longest tales.

Question 5

Why short fiction?

Accepted Answer

As a teenager I read Fu Manchu and Doc Savage novels. Exotic places and villains.  I wrote the Curse of the Gold Scarab during Covid to amuse myself, knowing the market for a short story like the Scarab was  non-existent. I liked Flynn's character and the era and soon completed three more stories of varying lengths. The stories are as long as they need to be. ( I also learned recently that there is only one Sam Spade novel. He also appears in four short stories published in pulp magazines.)

Question 6

Flynn seems to be a cross between Sam Spade and Indiana Jones. Do you agree?

Accepted Answer

Not intentionally. I imagined stories that put him in different situations, rather than always solving a murder or finding a missing person, the usual subject of a private eye story. I admit there is a tongue-in-cheek, escapist tone to Gold Scarab and Triceratops Tango. The other two longer stories deal with serious issues that persist even today.

Question 7

One constant in the stories seems to be the women who initiate or affect his adventures. Why?

Accepted Answer

That's a standard trope for hard-boiled fiction, right? A beautiful, mysterious woman shows up on a rainy evening with a problem. More important, during this time period, women had very specific roles and societal expectations, so having a strong, complex woman, even if she was shady, at the center of the tales gives Flynn a strong foil. Besides, female characters are more interesting to create.

Question 8

Flynn is not divorced, always staring into the depths of a bourbon bottle, or a failed cop, the usual elements of a hard-boiled private eye. His mother is also a character in the stories. Why?

Accepted Answer

Well, he couldn't drink because of Prohibition, though I think he's an occasional beer guy anyway. Flynn has done illegal things in his life, yet he has reached a point in his life where he's going to play it straight if he can. He's more interested in the ethical implications of his actions, which sometimes conflicts with the legal aspects. As for his mom, I thought a tough guy who cares for his mother reveals another dimension of his character and explains why he treats women, even those who snooker him, with respect.

Question 9

Will there be a Lazarus Flynn novel?

Accepted Answer

I've just finished the first Flynn novel, THE OTHALA RUNE.  An excerpt is available on this site and will be available soon. I've got a list of six new adventures plotted out, so Lazarus will be around for a while, at least in my mind.

Q and A with Author D. A. Dalessandro