Book Title: Midnight Black by R. J. Eastwood

Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 282 pages

Genre: General Fiction, Political

Publisher: Indies United Publishing House

Release date: April 14, 2021

Synopsis

“When plunder becomes a way of life for men, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” Frederic Bastiat, French Economist. 1801-1850

Fifteen years following his imprisonment for committing a brutal revenge murder, former top DEA Agent Billy Russell is paroled five-years early to a world controlled by autocratic billionaires. Armed only with his wits, Billy returns to a society fighting for its very survival and soon finds himself embroiled in the wildest conspiracy he could have ever imagined.

Guest Post

Before I retired and began writing books, I wrote and directed motion picture screenplays as well as more cable network documentaries than I care to remember—one-hundred & forty hours-worth, to be exact. Eight of my screenplays made it to the big screen.

Now, not all motion picture screenplays are created equal. By that I mean some never get made into films. That’s just the nature of the business. That was the case of two of my screenplays, both of which I turned into novels—twice.

The first was In the Realm of Eden, based on my screenplay about what first contact between humans and aliens might be like. Eventually, I added to it and retitled it and published it as The Autopsy of Planet Earth. It went on to win four book awards and is still selling.

The second screenplay that didn’t make it too the silver screen was about a near future society paying a severe price for the failures of earlier societies. That was published as Midnight Black – The Purge. It was written before the events of 2020 and early 2021: the polarized political situation, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the horrible pandemic that spread pain, suffering, and death throughout the world. I was compelled to revise and expand the novel to include those event as well as other events that had occurred since the original book had been published. This time I simply titled it Midnight Black.

Writing screenplays and documentaries bears no resemblance to a novel. For me, the learning curve was at times arduous. Movie scripts, for example, set a location, provide a bit of motivation, and lots of dialogue. The rest is left up to the director’s imagination and the talent of the actors. Documentaries are voice overs and on-camera interviews. Both are visual, books are not. I had to learn to flesh out scenes that readers could clearly visualize in their heads. I also had to show restraint and not spell out everything in minute detail. I had to demonstrate respect for readers, providing just enough information that would allow their imaginations to take it from there. I believe that’s part of the fun of reading. And yet, not so easy.

However, once I got into it, I loved it. For the first time in my writing career, I was able to let my imagination and creativity sour beyond the restrictions of a 120-130-page screenplay or a one-hour documentary. I retained my screenplay storyline and characters just as I had originally written, so the characters, plot, and structure remained the same. Although, once I began, like many first-time novel writers, I tended to overwrite, using far more words than were needed to set the scene and flesh out the characters. I had to learn to tell the story cleanly without trying to emulate Shakespeare. My editor was also a great help in helping me find my voice and not someone else’s.

Now I working on two new novels based not on unproduced screenplay, but on original ideas. I’m ready, I’ve found my “novel” voice, and now the words just flow—thank goodness.

With the April 14^th publication of the revised and expanded Midnight Black, I have now authored nine books, five of which were non-fiction along the way. When I get up in the morning, I can’t wait to get to the computer and begin working. It brings me so much joy. How lucky I am.

About the Author

During his film and television career, Robert J. Emery, who writes novels under the pen name, R. J. Eastwood, has written, produced, and directed feature motion pictures, television documentaries, national television commercials, political campaigns, and industrial films. Some of the highlights of his career include the award-winning ninety-one-episode television series The Directors for Starz/Encore, the award-winning four-part mini-series, The Genocide Factor for PBS, the award-winning documentary For God & Country: A Marine Sniper’s Story for MSNBC, and the award-winning motion picture, Swimming Upstream, for the Lifetime Television Network.

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