An Evening with Mystery Author Don Harstad
Author of Eleven Days/em>, Code Sixty Oneand Big Thaw to Release Next Book
By Isabel Stewart, published Nov 30, 2007
Published Content: 134 Total Views: 47,393 Favorited By: 3 CPs
At his Library presentation, he kept his audience hanging onto his every word with his witty reflections on his time as a policeman and his experiences of becoming a successful author.
Harstad has five published novels under his belt and two more in the works. One is already written and is in the hands of three different publishers; the other he is due to start working on in the near future. Film producers are also considering some of his books, not just in the US, but in France and the UK.
It took Harstad eight years to get his first book published and he was repeatedly rejected. It was not until a wardrobe lady that he knew in LA took his first book, Eleven Days, retyped it and printed off 60 copies that he finally got published. Most people thought that it would make a great movie. He even received a call from George Cloony!
"One day I answered the phone and it was George Cloony. He said that he thought it would make a great movie," Harstad said. Other books by Harstad are: Big Thaw, Known Dead, Code Sixty One and A Long December. The content of Harstad's books include his encounters with Satanists, vampires, drug dealers, thieves, the FBI and murderers. "All the stuff I do is based on what I've done or seen around here - even the vampires. We had people in Crawford County that thought they were vampires," he said. "I try to base most of my books on people and situations I have encountered but I try to change everyone's names," he added.
Harstad said one of the great things about writing novels is that you can kill people who annoy you. Harstad's book that is currently being considered is about meth- amphetamine (meth) and how the family and friends of users, abusers, dealers and manufacturers, are affected by it.
An Evening with Mystery Author Don Harstad
Mystery Novelist Donald Harstad who has had five books published that were based upon his experiences as a deputy sheriff in Northeast Iowa.
Credit: Isabel Stewart
Copyright: Isabel Stewart
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Takeaways
- Novelists gives tips on getting published
- Don Harstad discusses the content of his books
- Harstad entertains with memories of the material that made up his books
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Posted on 12/04/2007 at 10:12:00 AM