I’m very pleased to announce today the release of my first novel for adults, High Concepts: A Hollywood Nightmare. It’s a dark comic spin on the age-old premise of a philosopher who goes to Hollywood and overnight becomes the film industry’s hottest new writer.
Here’s the official trailer…
Donald P. Wirt, PhD, is a young, obtuse professor of philosophy who is mistakenly fired for “unprofessional and unethical conduct” at a professional ethics conference. But his luck changes when an affluent couple hires him to be a private tutor to their son, Miles, a brilliant high school junior who, rather than prepping for the SAT, spends his nights writing slasher film scripts and pitching Hollywood prodcos under the nom de théâtre, “Donnie Percival.” When one of those prodcos surprisingly requests an actual meeting in L.A., Miles fears he will lose the deal if he’s discovered to be only a pimply youth of sixteen. So in return for a share of the payout, he sends Donald in his place–in the guise of “Donnie Percival.”
Yet almost as soon as his plane lands at LAX, Donald discovers that “Donnie Percival” has a life of his own. Hardly aware of what is happening to him, he is quickly embroiled in an cutthroat world of warring producers, ferocious celebrity pets, and a former teen queen looking for a reboot as a serious actress.
As the clueless Donald becomes the hottest scribe in Hollywood, the burning question emerges: how hot can “Donnie Percival” become before Donald himself goes up in flames?
It’s part early Waugh, part middle Wodehouse, and part end of Western Civilization as we know it.
A reviewer referred to High Concepts as “laugh out loud funny.” But you may laugh silently if you prefer.
High Concepts is available as an ebook from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com. It’s not yet available on iTunes, but those who enjoy reading on an iPad can download this free Kindle app from Amazon which will enable them to read Kindle books on the iPad. (The cover of High Concepts was illustrated by the hugely talented Theodore Schluenderfritz.)
Please feel free to follow me on Twitter: @danielmcinerny.
Those interested in my children’s writing can find it at the Kingdom of Patria website.
