Daniel Depp - Your Questions Answered!
Daniel Depp answers your questions!
Dear Readers:
Sorry about the delay in answering these questions, but I’ve been on the road for a couple of months, and wanted time to answer them properly. I’ve just now come to rest at home for a week or so, and then I’m off again! Thanks for your patience!
Anyway, here goes…
snorkackcatcher wrote:
Daniel: is -- well, to avoid spoilers, let's just say a character who went on the run for very good reason near the end of Loser's Town -- due to play a part in sequels? After a lot of buildup throughout the book his story seemed to be left hanging somewhat.
I’m asked this question a lot - readers have developed an odd affection for the guy, who was meant to be a minor character but ended up collecting his own fan base! And the answer is… yes. He’ll be back at some point, most likely Spandau 3 or 4. I’m developing a story for him now. My editor once said he’s the nicest multiple-murderer she’s ever read. I’m not quite sure how to take this. Who knew?
still_a_student wrote:
Mr.Depp: You've explained during a book signing the origin of the name of Spandau's Ex's name Dee(being originated from Sampson & Delilah ). On another occasion you've mentioned an idea for a new detective novel with the main character being a Sufi detective (very interesting !). As a student of Arabic language and Middle eastern culture and religions, I'm interested if you're familiar with any translated arabic literature works,writers,and if there's any you would recommend.
Thanks.
Dee’s name, Delia, is indeed a play on Delilah (who weakened Samson by cutting his hair), and there are some other name-games in the book. These are unimportant to the story though, and mainly I did it for my own amusement to see if anybody would catch them. You get a little strange when you spend time in a room alone.
I’ve been kicking around the idea of a Sufi detective for some time. My wife is Persian, and I’ve been steeped in the culture for years. It’s a beautiful and complex world, and I’d love to write about it, and I don’t think the idea of a Sufi-inspired detective has been done.
There’s a vast, wonderful history of Persian literature, but sadly not a lot of it has been translated. Translations of contemporary writers have been hampered by silly politics (ours and theirs!) but there are some terrific modern Persian writers and poets working in Iran and in exile.
As for middle eastern works and writers in translation, there are a bunch of good ones. To start, I’d recommend (in no particular order):
Nahguib Mahfouz (novelist, Egypt)
Nakim Hikmet (poet, Turkey)
Rumi (classical Persian poet. Try the modernized Coleman Barks adaptions to start with, then try the AJ Arberry translations)
Orhan Pamuk (novelist, Turkey, won the Nobel a few years ago)
Omar Khayam, the Rubaiat (the big Persian classic, but ignore the perennial Fitgerald rendering, which Persians laugh at. Maybe try the Robert Graves rendering done a few years back, I think, with Idries Shah)
Adonis (poet, Lebanese)
Mahmoud Darwish (poet, Palestine)
Yehuda Amichai (poet, Israel)
These are just a few of my personal favorites.
jlsim1 wrote:
Daniel: As a budding author I am currently trying to get my first novel looked at by publishers, never mind published. Do you have any tips on how to make the breakthrough?
Everybody has there own theory on how to do this. My own is:
(1) Take writing workshops. Forget showing your work to your lover, friend or mother. You’ll never get the objective and tough criticism you need anywhere except from a teacher, agent or editor. Prepare to get your feelings hurt. Over and over.
(2) Write every day. When, what and how much is up to you. Writers write. That’s what they do.
(3) When your novel is done, start on finding an agent rather than sending it directly to a publisher, where it will likely remain in a slush pile until the end of humanity as we know it. Agents are much more approachable than commonly thought, and there are lots of them willing to read new writers. The competition is stiff, but if they like your work they’ll send it round to publishers for you - leaving you free to work on the next brilliant opus.
(4) First and foremost, try to figure out why you’re writing in the first place. Money? Fame? Revenge? A desire to change the world? Be clear and realistic about your goals. If you’re a die-hard literary artiste writing your own version of Finnegans Wake, don’t expect publishers to shove money under your door, however brilliant it may be. Publishing is a business and publishers want to make money, so they publish what the market demands. If this isn’t for you, then consider alternate ways of getting your work out there, like the internet or self-publishing. This is perfectly respectable nowadays, and makes sense. Will you make money? Probably not much. But money and art rarely collide.
monk77 wrote:
TO: Daniel Depp
Hello Daniel,
My name is Sue. How are you? I hope well. A very kind friend of mine recently had the pleasure of meeting you at a book signing in CA.
There she mentioned my MySpace site that I have started for you. She told me that you seemed very pleased. I would like to ask you here, IF I do have your approval to have the site?
I very much look forward to reading your first book. I will receive my copy after your New York book signing at "MYSTERIOUS BOOKSTORE". The "SUE" will be me. HA!
Thank you, Daniel...and best of luck!!
Sue LaShomb
I’ve very much enjoyed the public readings/signings, which is a welcome change to sitting in a room by myself for days on end, pecking away at a word processor. And I’m greatly flattered by the idea of your doing a MySpace site, though for any “official” approval I’d have to go through my publishers and my agents, who are in charge of such things. I just work here.
awfulstink wrote:
Dear Mr Depp,
I've read your first chapter and it seems pretty clear already that you have a well-developed sense of the absurd, which I love. You have certainly picked a rich source for material. Are there any personal experiences that you wanted to include in the book but that were just not plausible enough for fiction?
Thanks-
Oh, there are lots and lots of personal experiences that never made it into the book. And never will, because I’m not an autobiographical writer. Like most writers, I use bits and pieces of my life - or anybody’s life, for that matter -- but rarely directly. I’ll sometimes use something that actually happened as a springboard for a scene or a story, but in the process it usually gets changed beyond all recognition. If it doesn’t help move the story along, it never goes in at all.
pugsindixon wrote:
Daniel: I loved your book. Excellent. Your technique is awesome. I enjoy the "sarcastic wit" of it. I have been following online about the signings you have been doing in the California area. Makes sense since that is where you are from. Are you planning on doing a national book signing tour? I live in IL and would definitely come. And if not, is there an address someone could write to and get an autograph? Like maybe your agent?
Donna
I’d like to have made a longer US tour but there just wasn’t enough time. The book came out in the UK around the same day and I was scheduled to make appearances there as well. And I was very cranky about having enough time to work on Babylon Nights, the second Spandau book which is due to my publishers this summer, so I refused to do any touring after March.
To get a book signed, best thing is to send it to my agents or publishers with a self-addressed stamped book envelope, and they will (hopefully) relay it to me. Keep in mind that I travel a lot and it may be a while before I get back to you. Please be clear to whom you want it signed!
lil_k2009 wrote:
Daniel Depp
Hiya Mr Daniel Depp,
I am interested to know what inspired you to write Loser's Town? I haven't read your book as of yet, but it is on the top of my list of books to buy. I have read some brilliant reviews on it and the plot seems extremely interesting, i look forward to reading it.
Best wishes
Kirsty xxx
I’ve always loved detective novels - especially the noir genre - and wanted for years to write one. I tried several times over the years but was never happy with the results and didn’t bother to publish. It wasn’t until after working in Hollywood that things came together, and I hit on the idea of David Spandau as a central character. As an ex-stuntman, Spandau gets to observe the inner workings of the entertainment world without actually being a “player” - he’s at once inside and outside, making him the perfect engine to drive along the tales I wanted to tell, and the observations I wanted to make on what that very closed world is actually like.
shadowdog44 wrote:
The Brave
you worked on the film The Brave. This had very limited release. Is there any chance it will be released on Region 1 and 2 DVDs?
I honestly know very little about the DVD release aspect of The Brave, which lies in the esoteric realm of film distribution. I know it’s available in Europe, and there are various pirated bad Asian copies floating around. There are definitely no plans right now to release it here in the US, though people really want to see it. Sorry.
amp854 wrote:
Loser's Town by Daniel Depp
Daniel, I loved your story and look I forward to the sequels.
I'm sort of re-iterating snorkackcatcher's comment/question, but also I'd like to know if you wrestled with deciding that character's fate? Did you write a different ending for him before settling on that one?
Also, I just wanted to say how much I love your writing style and how I came to love all the characters in Loser's Town. You fleshed them out and gave them a realistic humanity with an impressive economy of words. Thank you!
Thanks for the lovely compliments! As for the fate of “that character”, no, I always knew how he would end up - though I confess it never occurred to me people would take such a liking to him (if that‘s the word). Plans to bring him back are in the works thanks to reader demand, you’ll be pleased to know.
@scarlettgirl64 For Daniel Depp: I love your book. Can I possibly get you to sign my copy. And are you going to be writing a sequel?
I’m writing the second Spandau, Babylon Nights, even as we speak. It takes place in LA and Cannes, and is about a depressed actress being stalked by a potential killer. She might just go ahead and let him murder her. Spandau is trying to stop it.
As for signing your copy, best to send it to my agent or publishers -- along with a self-addressed, stamped book envelope - and they will send it to me. But, as I say, I’m on the road a lot and anything sent snail-mail may be a while getting to.
still_a_student asked:
Mr Depp: I've just read the Q&A entry on the main page , and it states we can ask anything even if it's about " how you like your breakfast”, so for the sake of taking things literally , how do you take your coffee?
Also, if you were given a chance to choose one existing work of literature and claim to be it's proud author ,which one would it be and why ?
Good questions…
I’d love to have written Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (or practically anything by Dickens, really). I used to teach the book and every time I read it I found something new, some nuance I’d missed before. It was also wonderful discussing it with teenagers, who always had their own takes on it and taught me quite a bit in return. Dickens manages to create a world you can get lost in, and I owe him what little sanity I have left: in times of stress I always go back to his books.
As for coffee: Black. Strong. Made in a percolator and nothing fancy-schmancy, just the way my grannie made it, though I’m cranky about coffee and prefer self-ground Jamaican Blue Mountain ($60 a pound last time I checked, for chrissake!) when I can find it but otherwise Illy. Scalding hot. Drunk from one of my collection of mystery bookshop mugs, usually first thing on rising, in bed, staring, slackjawed and eyeswollen, into space, trying to shame myself into getting up and writing something. My conscience usually wins after two mugs.
- END -
Daniel Depp is a former journalist, bookseller, photographer and teacher, and most recently a screenwriter and Hollywood producer. In 1997, he and his brother, Johnny Depp (no questions on Johhny please), produced the film The Brave, with Johnny directing and starring alongside Marlon Brando. Daniel now divides his time between California and France. LOSER'S TOWN is his first novel.
LOSER'S TOWN is available on AMAZON and other retailers.