Interview with Shelly Frome, Author of Fast Times Big City

Fast Times Big City by Shelly Frome

Publisher:  Boutique of Quality Books (Feb 6, 2024)
Category: Manhattan Mystery
Tour dates: February 26-March 25, 2024
ISBN: ‎ 979-8886330267 Available in Print and ebook, Approx. 330 pages

 

Description Fast Times Big City by Shelly Frome

In a bind, Bud Palmer finds himself at the crossroads when just about everything was on the verge. Like most people, Bud Palmer felt this was just another day. Though the era was drawing to a close, he assumed his life as a sports columnist in the subtropics, in keeping with the benign fifties itself, would go on as predictable as ever. But that particular autumn morning he was thrust into a caper that was totally beyond him, forced him to leave Miami and take the train to Manhattan, and suddenly found everything in this restless "Big Apple" was up for grabs, on the brink, at a dicey turning point.

Interview with Shelly Frome

'Suzie: Please tell us something about ‘Fast Times Big City’

Shelly: It was a chance to return to the accessible New York City of my youth, not as a would-be striving actor this time but as a more mature character buffeted by a greater scope of obstacles. In effect, Bud Palmer finds himself in a bind, at a crossroads where everything seemed to be on the verge. I guess you could call it a  historical fifties caper

Suzie: I always enjoy looking at the names that authors choose to give their characters. Where do you derive the names of your characters? 

Shelly: Somehow the name has to be just right within the setting and given circumstances  in order to feed my imagination. For instance, I needed someone who had been jarred loose from the coziness and conformity of Miami of that era to take on the never-ending beat and tinge of danger prevalent in the “Big Apple” of that time.  I needed a Bud Palmer to be caught in a bind totally beyond his comfort zone.

Suzie: How completely do you develop your characters before beginning to write?

Shelly: Once I have the names right I know all about them, what they’re capable of and how they may respond under pressure. For instance, I know that Bud is clean-cut, was the vice president of his class at Miami High some seven or so years ago, always complied with the repressive rules of that day and age and would have to let all that go in order to take on this dicey task and truly find himself. All told, what I’m after are three dimensional characters, replete with an inner and outer life and potential contradictions, who come alive and give the story the sense of an act of becoming or, if you like, self-generating.

Suzie: Which actor would you like to see playing Bud Palmer?  Why?

Shelly: Tom Hanks when he was in his early thirties. Because he could easily pass as a  clean-cut, nice guy of that era. Moreover, underneath it all, he is quite sensitive and has the potential to run the gamut of whatever he might encounter in the “big city,” evolve and survive.  

Suzie: Tell us about your cover. Did you design it yourself?

Shelly: I took a segment of my late artist friend’s painting “Times Square” of that era and requested simple lettering in white.  

Suzie: What draws you to the mystery genre?

Shelly: It’s never just another day. There’s a significant disturbance that throws everyone off balance. How they cope, the aftermath of each encounter never fails to surprise me. In effect, I discover something akin to the truth about things—something I’d never encounter on the news or by observing safe and predictable behavior.

Suzie: When did you first have a desire to write?  How did this desire manifest itself?

Shelly:  As you’ve probably surmised, to me what passes for everyday life seems to take place on the surface. It’s more or less safe and predictable which, I guess, is by design. Once in study hall at Shenandoah Junior High in Miami back in the day, I found myself writing cliff-hangers, surreptitiously passing them around and discovering my classmates kept wanting more. “And then what happened?” they all wrote.

Suzie: What writers have you drawn inspiration from?

Shelly: Hemingway, Salinger and Ray Bradbury to name a few from a list of at least a dozen.

Suzie: What do you do when you are not writing?

Shelly: Since my wife suddenly passed away, I just interview provocative people for the local paper, take jaunts with Baxter my golden doodle, attend church once a week, etc. But, to tell the truth, I’m always writing even in my dreams. Sometimes I feel like paying money for a way to get writer’s block so that I can get a good night’s uninterrupted sleep. Which reminds me of something a noted playwright once told me. He had this acquaintance who was always pestering saying, “How’s the story going?” The response was always, “It’s coming along.” One day, when the playwright couldn’t take it anymore he shouted, “It’s finished, okay? Now all I have to do is write it down!”   

Suzie: What are you currently working on?

Shelly: I’ve begun a story about a handyman who keeps his distance, appearing on the surface as the proverbial strong, silent type, who is fast approaching the age of sixty. Lately, he has this empty feeling he’s squandered his life, and is suddenly beset with the plight of a young newlywed client whose husband has suddenly gone missing. The working title is “Charlie and the Blue Ridge Caper”.   

Suzie: Thanks again and good luck with ‘Fast Times Big City’, as well as your future endeavors.

About Shelly Frome

Award winning author, Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at UConn, a former professional actor, and a writer of crime novels and books on theater and film. He also is a features writer for Gannett Publications. His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of the Drifter, Tinseltown Riff, Murder Run, Moon Games, The Secluded Village Murders and Miranda and the D-Day Caper. Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio: A History, a guide to playwriting and one on screenwriting, Shadow of the Gypsy is his latest foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth. He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Website: http://www.shellyfrome.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shellyfrome
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shellyFrome

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