HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS BOOK-Charlie Stella

This is the first in what I hope will be a weekly feature on how writers came to write a specific book.

How I Came To Write This Book:
Johnny Porno
by Charlie Stella

A few years ago, after reading an article about the tragic life and death of Linda Susan Boreman (a.k.a., Linda Lovelace), I noticed a documentary had been made about the film responsible for her becoming an overnight celebrity and household name.

Inside Deep Throat was a masterful exposé that detailed the many variables at play behind the making of the film and how its political persecution became the driving force behind its financial success. Immediately after watching the documentary, my wife and I looked to each other and said, “Next book.”

That's from the forward in my book Johnny Porno. All I can add to it is the fact that I was pretty run-down idea wise regarding my fictional mob family (the Vignieri family) and was inspired by the historical novels of Craig McDonald (his Lassiter series). What I found looking back to that time (research) was a great deal of fun (the research itself) and the time frame worked well with my characters (who reappear throughout my seven crime novels).

It was special fun to write about my favorite character, Tommy Burns ... a quirky hit man in his infancy, so to speak.

Charlie Stella is also the author of MAFIYA, SHAKEDOWN, CHEAPSKATES, CHARLIE OPERA, JIMMY BENCHPRESS and EDDIE'S WORLD.

Stay tuned on Thursdays for future installments of HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS BOOK

Next up: Dave Zeltserman