David Lamb is a native New Yorker, born
and raised, bitten with the writing bug since he was in elementary school and
had handwriting nobody could decipher. Like Charles Dickens, David grew up a
poor boy in the big city who found that the pen really is mightier than the
sword. In middle school Lamb's hero was David Lampel whose velvet voice could
be heard reporting the news over David's grandmother's radio. Whenever he heard
him on the radio, David would substitute Lamb for Lampel and pretend he was
delivering the news. Sure that he was destined to be a famous reporter David
was happy to go to a high school with a journalism program. Like most kids, by
the time he finished high school he had a whole new career in mind. After high
school he went to Hunter College and majored in Economics because he
wanted to be cool like that college kid who came to speak at his last year of
high school. He was an Economics major, he was dressed sharp and above-all the
girls thought he was the man! So like any unreasonable high school boy fueled
by overactive hormones David figured if he majored in Economics they'd think he
was cool. After finishing college David went on to law school at NYU, but all
the time writing was still his heart. While working as a lawyer by day, at
night he transformed into a writer and eventually wrote and produced the
award-winning hit off-Broadway romantic comedy Platanos Y Collard Greens. Being
a writer and having the chance make people laugh out loud while challenging
them to think about the world around them, and inspire each of us to believe in
the power of love and our own ability to overcome life's challenges is a great
gift that David truly enjoys and thanks you for allowing him to share with you
in On
Top Of The World (Until The Bell Chimes).
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About the Book:
2016 BEST
FICTION-Pacific Book Awards. FROM THE FUNNY AND NATURALLY BRILLIANT DAVID
LAMB, award-winning playwright of the New York Times celebrated play,
Platanos Y Collard Greens, comes a modern spin on Dickens' classic tale
that perfectly combines
Purchase Information:
Amazon | iTunes | B&N
It’s
a pleasure to have you here today, David. Can you tell us what your new book is
about?
A fast and fun spin on Dickens that combines laughs and love in a story
re-imagined for our digital age. This version of Scrooge and Belle is familiar,
yet unlike any you've come across before. Scrooge, or rather Scrooʝe, is
music's biggest star, with one hundred million albums sold and twenty-five
million fanatical Twitter followers known as Scroojites. Belle, is a legal
shark whose beauty and stunning figure causes traffic accidents as she
stylishly zips through the sidewalks of Manhattan.
Together, with his best friends Marley (the hyper-talented music
producer) and Cratchit (the hottest comic in the country) they rise to the top.
Belle becomes the brains behind the scenes and Scrooʝe becomes the sexy
superstar, until he betrays Belle’s most intimate trust and she leaves
him.
But at Hollywood's biggest event, Scrooʝe will take the journey of a
lifetime to heal from his feelings of being unworthy of love, find a
way to melt the ice that's turned his heart cold, and hope for a chance to make
things right.
What's a girl to do when the nerdy guy she fell for in college becomes
music's biggest superstar and biggest jerk? Give him a second chance or walk
away and start over?
Can
you tell us a little about your main and supporting characters?
The main characters
are Scrooge and Belle is familiar, yet unlike any you've come across before.
Scrooge, or rather Scrooje, is music's biggest superstar, with one hundred
million albums sold, fifteen million devoted YouTube subscribers, two and a
half million Facebook likes, and twenty-five million fanatical Twitter
followers known as Scroojites. Belle, is a legal shark who gulps down her
opposition voraciously and whose beauty and stunning figure causes traffic
accidents as she zips through the sidewalks of Manhattan stylishly adorned and taking no
prisoners. They never imagined being music's most powerful couple, but
that's exactly what happened when they met in college and fell head over heels
and Belle gave the Coke-bottle glasses wearing Scrooje the ultimate makeover,
turning him into a top-charting fashion impresario whose style sets trends from
Milan to NY Fashion Week
The supporting
characters are Marley, Cratchit & Camille. Marley is Scrooje’s best friend
since grade school. Although he started out as Scrooje’s biggest bully, that
all turned around when Scrooje discovered Marley’s secret dyslexia and began
helping him learn to read. Marley grows up to be a great athlete and along with
Scrooje become a music start. He dies a ridiculous superstar death falling into
his pool at his Brazilian mansion on his birthday after having it filled with
the world’s most expensive wine. He returns as a ghost to give Scrooje advice
to save his life and love. Cratchit met Scrooje in Marley in college he was the
campus clown and goes on to become a famous comedian exploited by one of
Scrooje’s notoriously crooked contracts. Camille is Scrooje’s love interest,
Belle’s, best friend since college. She has her own successful event planning
business and has to stop Cratchit’s romantic fantasies.
Your
book is set in New York. Can you
tell us why you chose this city in particular?
Because New York is part of the music and fashion scene
and Scrooje is a music superstar who is a fashion mogul. Also the vibrancy of
the city and the different cultures and neighborhoods gave a lot for me to play
with.
Open
the book to page 69. What is happening?
Scrooje is in the 4th
grade, the smallest boy in class and the picked on teachers pet. His lead
tormentor at that time is Marley (this is long before they become best friends
and music stars together). On that day Scrooje wins a contest in class that
wins him two new comic books and Marley threatens him if he doesn’t hand them
over.
What
has been the most pivotal point of your writing life?
Several,
but the one that comes to mind is getting applause after reading my first short
story to my 6th grade class. After that I was hooked J
What
kind of advice would you give other fiction authors?
WRITE!
By that I mean don’t wait until you feel the story is complete resolved in your
mind to get your ideas down on paper. Just get your ideas down and then let the
story lead you where it wants to go.