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Saturday, October 28, 2017

GUEST POST: Downsized With Extreme Prejudice By David Hanrahan

Downsized With Extreme Prejudice
By David Hanrahan
Genre: Adult Crime/ Suspense

Bradford Baxton III, is the CEO of Amalgamated Worldwide Enterprises. His ruthless acquisition policies earned him the title, "King of Downsizing."

His corrupt corporate empire begins to crumble when his Chief Financial Officer is brutally murdered. What follows is a deadly downsizing campaign at Amalgamated Worldwide Enterprises, leaving its top officers wondering who is next on the killer’s list.

Bill Coine, a retired Massachusetts State Police Detective Lieutenant, is lured out of retirement to investigate and soon solves the case. Or does he? What follows is an exciting and suspenseful story with clever twists and turns, and a surprise ending.











GUEST POST:

The all-important process that provides the foundation for our writing efforts is the subject of this blog. Creative writing requires much more than just good ideas and a laptop. Unless you are writing news articles or legal briefs, both of which have strict deadlines, your creative writing efforts might get started but never reach the finish line without self-discipline. Time is your enemy, no matter how much time you think you have. Unless you remain dedicated to your self-imposed deadlines you may lose continuity of plot or worse. You may lose interest in the project. Many writers impose a strict requirement that they produce a certain amount of usable words each day. For better or worse, I do not. I try to set aside a minimum of four hours per day for writing my novel. Look at it as your creative writing workday. I have discovered that unless my creative juices are flowing and I can’t stop, more than four hours is fatiguing. Instead of a word limit, I have a good idea when I have written a useful addition to my book. By the way, I do create a loose outline of the story; very loose! I let the characters and plot change as the characters dictate; and they do! Because you do have a life, do not ignore the time you have while travelling. Buses, planes and trains are good places for writing so long as you have your laptop or writing pad with you. Use that time effectively. Let us not ignore writer’s block. When you think you have run out of ideas, believe me you have not. Stop banging your head against the wall and use the time to go back over your earlier drafts for editing and re-writing. Seeing what you have already written usually unlocks the block; at least it does so for me. Finally, get used to the idea that your first draft is actually not likely to be your last.. You must discipline yourself to maintain a critical eye throughout the effort. Do any of your characters need more development? Is your dialogue authentic and interesting? If you stay loyal to the process, you should find yourself finishing what you started; an interesting and very readable novel. My debut novel. “Downsized – With Extreme Prejudice”, was considered to be “A sound mystery fronted by an immensely likable detective primed for a sequel.” – Kirkus Reviews.




About the Author

David G. Hanrahan was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1936. His Irish work ethic began early. When he was fourteen, Hanrahan started his first business venture selling freshly baked soft pretzels in front of the Graham Avenue and Grand Street movie theaters. By the time he finished college, he had wrapped shirts in a laundry, sold a new German beer entry into the New York market, was a mailman for the Christmas rush in the old Brooklyn Postal Zone 11 and did a stint as an elevator operator in the United States Steel Building on Wall Street. Hanrahan is a graduate of the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High school. During his high school years, Hanrahan was managing editor of his high school newspaper, a soloist with the glee club, and sang in the tenor section of the New York All-City Chorus with four performances in Carnegie Hall.

He graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design in 1958. He received the Organization of the Army medal and was designated a Distinguished Military Graduate. While in the Army, Hanrahan graduated from the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia and the Jungle Warfare School in Fort Sherman, Panama Canal Zone. In 1962, while stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, he was honored by the people of a small Panamanian town for helping them achieve their dream of a new school. The inauguration of the "Lieutenant David G. Hanrahan School.- Amistad -Panama -Estados Unidos" was attended by the President of Panama, the American Ambassador to Panama and the senior army staff.  After 5 years in the United States Army, attaining the rank of Captain, he attended Boston University Law School where he received his Juris Doctor Degree in 1966. He served on the Boston University Law Review where he was elected to the position of Note Editor.

Married with two young children while attending law school full time,  Hanrahan worked as a reporter for the Quincy Patriot Ledger. He spent one year as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. before returning to Boston to begin his career as a Boston trial lawyer. Hanrahan, a distinguished trial attorney, is a member of the Boston and Massachusetts Bar Associations and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Music has always been an important part of Hanrahan's life. He is a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society and for the last 15 years has sung lead in a barbershop quartet “Spindrift." Now, writing suspenseful and riveting court room novels occupies an important part of his life.

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