A Day in the Life of Mystery Author Duane Byrge @byrge_duane #writing #author #adayinthelife

A Day in the Life is Literarily Speaking’s newest feature. Here we get a glimpse into our favorite author’s day-to-day life! Today’s guest is Duane Byrge, author of the mystery novel, The Red Carpet at Cannes.

I write early in the morning before my brain is clogged with daily minutiae. I find I am more creative then. Plus, in my prior life as head film critic for The Hollywood Reporter, I had a 10 a.m deadline for my reviews of movies I had screened the evening before at the studios. I write for roughly 2-3 hours in the mornings, and then work-out, mixing cardio with weights.

My day-job, teaching film and journalism at Virginia State University, stretches from early afternoon to roughly 9 p.m. I find the mix of writing, exercising, and teaching enables optimal creativity, both on the written page and in the classroom. Also, keeps my endorphin popping.

I usually unwind by watching football or, in the off-season, banging away on the piano, listening to Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones, and day-trading. I am currently learning Norwegian.

About the Author

Duane Byrge has written for The Hollywood Reporter for more than 20 years. Starting out as a secretary for the entertainment industry newspaper while he was a graduate student at the University of Southern California, Byrge rose to serve in various capacities, including news editor and senior film critic. He serves as a consultant to the Chicago International Film Festival, where he brought Halle Berry to Chicago in 2001 for a career tribute.

A Wisconsin native, Byrge holds a Ph.D. in Communications, with an emphasis in Cinema, from the University of Southern California, where he has served as a lecturer. His Ph.D. dissertation was the basis for the book, “The Screwball Comedy Films,” which he co-authored. The book was re-released in hardcover in 1991 by McFarland Publishing and re-released in paperback in 2001 as part of the publication’s Classic Series.

Currently an assistant professor of Mass Communications at Virginia State University, Byrge teaches journalism, motion picture history and appreciation, and mass communications. He is working on a book on movie producers, “Before the Shooting Begins,” which will be published by the University of California, Berkeley Press.

Website: www.duanebyrge.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/byrge_duane

About the Book:

Title: THE RED CARPET AT CANNES
Author: Duane Byrge
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 235
Genre: Mystery

BOOK BLURB:

Veteran film critic Duane Byrge takes readers on a behind-the-scenes thrill ride at the legendary Cannes Film Festival in his new mystery, THE RED CARPET AT CANNES.

A longtime movie writer and editor for the Hollywood Reporter, Byrge turns to the thriller genre to tell the tale of Ryan Hackbart, who, like Byrge, covers the Cannes Film Festival for the fictional Hollywood Times.

Hackbart finds himself in the middle of a Hitchcock-style mystery as he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the lead actress of the festival's opening-night film. Interrogated but released, his passport is confiscated, and he is hounded by the world media. He must solve the murder before the culprit kills him or the police arrest him.

Aided by his female companion, Delisha, Ryan's investigation thrusts Hackbart into the underbelly of the most glamorous film festival in the world and opens his eyes to what lies underneath the glitz and glamour.

After a long, successful career as a film journalist, Byrge decided to change to the novel format to tell his story.

“You can reveal truths within a novel that you can’t convey with the ‘facts’ of a news story,” Byrge explains. “It allows me to flesh out the full story of the events I have covered.”

THE RED CARPET AT CANNES will please mystery fans and film buffs alike. It's a five-star travelogue straight into a celebrity universe of dazzling parties, high-end cuisine, superstar celebrities, high fashion, and movie-world politics.