Turn the Page Publishing
ISBN: 978-1938501586
Published: June 1, 2014
Trade Paperback, 232 pages
Book Synopsis:
Tangled lives, tainted love, and a Shakespearean twist lead to deception, betrayal, and murder.
In this sexy, psychological thriller, Eurasian beauty Mai Faca plots to marry Jake Warden, a successful oral surgeon forbidden to her because of family honor. In an unheard-of scheme, fellow surgeon, Bret Manley, falls victim to Mai's seduction as she and Jake play a cruel trick to be together. Jake acts with surgical precision to clear the path to Mai's happiness, threatening lives including his own.
In a wake of turmoil and destruction, Bret's uncle and well-known criminal attorney Hubie Santos attempts to find out if a surgeon would use his knowledge to kill.
And now a few words with Donald R. Grippo:
LCR: Welcome to Library of Clean Reads, Donald! I’m always curious about
how authors find the titles to their novels. How did you come up with
this book’s title?
DG: One
of my goals was to incorporate poetic references in my novel. Since
the major event of the story was a death under anesthesia, the
variation of a line from Hamlet’s soliloquy was appropriate. Other
examples of poetic references are each chapter heading is a line from
a Shakespeare sonnet.
LCR: Some characters come
easily when we write but others seem harder to build. Which was the
hardest character to write?
DG: Mai
Faca. She is the most interesting and psychologically complicated.
Her overt and subtle control over Jake Warden and Bret Manley drive
the plot.
LCR: If you could put yourself
as a character in your book, who would you be?
DG: Bret Manley. He is naïve
but basically a good guy.
LCR: What is the last great
book you read?
DG: Gone Girl by Gillian
Flynn
LCR: What is your next project?
DG: I’ve finished the
sequel of To Sleep…Perchance to Die
and have turned it over to my publisher for editing. The title is
Revenge Best Served Bloody. It
is grittier than To
Sleep…Perchance to Die,
and the plot is not what the reader might expect after reading the
first book.
LCR: Some writers have rituals
or habits when they write. I know I need to have dark chocolate or
nuts to munch on. Do you snack while writing? Favorite snack?
DG: I almost always begin my
writing with a cup of coffee next to my computer. I might not drink
it, but having it nearby brings comfort.
LCR: Now for some fun stuff to
get to know more about you. If you could go back in time, where would
you go?
DG: Paris in the late 1800’s
and early 1900’s, The Belle Époque. An exciting time and place
with interesting people.
LCR: What’s the funniest
thing that’s ever happened to you?
DG: One
morning at about 4:00 a.m. I was called to see a young lady in my
hospital’s Emergency Department. In order not to wake my wife I
dressed in the dark. The patient had sustained a cheekbone fracture
as the result of an auto accident. Her family was with her as I
examined her, and I noticed they were smiling. The young lady’s
injuries were uncomplicated and easily treatable. At one point I
asked the family members why they were smiling. They said I had two
different shoes on, one brown and the other black. We all had a good
laugh.
LCR: The
scariest thing that's happened to you?
DG: In
training to get my private pilot’s license, it was time for my
first solo flight. It was to consist of three takeoffs and landings.
As I took off on the first, I encountered wake turbulence from a
large commercial airline jet that had taken off on a parallel runway.
My small single engine Cessna was thrown about the sky. The event
probably lasted for ten seconds but seemed much longer. Somehow I
regained control of the plane, but my legs were shaking so much I
couldn’t control the rudder pedals. I thought I might crash. I had
to press on my legs with my right arm to keep them on the pedals.
Somehow I was able to make a safe landing.
LCR: The
strangest thing that's happened to you?
DG: Several years ago I purchased a painting of a Dutch
woman who lived in the mid-1800’s. Soon after the painting was
hung, my wife and I noticed furniture inexplicably moved, lights
turned on and off, and ghostly appreciations. Friends witnessed the
strange events. Neither
my wife nor I were inclined to believe in such things, but so much
has happened that we have come to feel a benevolent spirit lives with
us.
LCR: What advice would you give
to budding writers?
DG: As with all professions,
certain skills have to be mastered. I’d advise the budding writer
to enroll in writing courses, read How-To books, and join writing
groups. If possible, in the beginning it will be easier if the writer
writes about what he or she knows. It is important to read aloud what
one has written. If it sounds good when spoken, it should read well
on the page.
LCR: Thank you so much for indulging me and answering my questions! I wish you all the best with your new novels.
About the author:
DONALD R. GRIPPO, D.D.S., was born in Enfield, Connecticut. He received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University and his doctor of dental surgery degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. His oral and maxillofacial surgical training was obtained at The New York Hospital/Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Don practiced oral and maxillofacial surgery in northeastern Connecticut for more than 30 years. On a daily basis, he encountered patients' fear of undergoing oral surgery and associated intravenous anesthesia. With the skill of a surgeon, Don plays on this fear in To Sleep...Perchance to Die. He adds in the law with real life character, Hubie Santos, a high profile criminal lawyer in Connecticut. Don's resume includes working as a dentist at the Tennessee State Prison outside of Nashville, and as a guard at the Hartford State Jail allowing him the write the gritty, gory truth of what goes on behind bars.
Note: I have not read this book and cannot rate it. FYI the author has rated the contents R.
Don practiced oral and maxillofacial surgery in northeastern Connecticut for more than 30 years. On a daily basis, he encountered patients' fear of undergoing oral surgery and associated intravenous anesthesia. With the skill of a surgeon, Don plays on this fear in To Sleep...Perchance to Die. He adds in the law with real life character, Hubie Santos, a high profile criminal lawyer in Connecticut. Don's resume includes working as a dentist at the Tennessee State Prison outside of Nashville, and as a guard at the Hartford State Jail allowing him the write the gritty, gory truth of what goes on behind bars.
Note: I have not read this book and cannot rate it. FYI the author has rated the contents R.
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