Welcome to my weekly feature where my Saturday night guests share about a book, movie, and one random suggestion of their choice. I am excited to have author Derik Cavignano with us.
A native of Boston and a writer since high school, Derik Cavignano currently lives in Florida with his wife, children, and an angry cat who won’t stop biting him. He writes character-driven thrillers in a variety of genres, including horror, sci-fi, and crime. His novels include The Righteous and the Wicked and Colony of the Lost (a 2016 Silver Falchion Award finalist for best horror). His upcoming crime thriller, The Art of Dying, is due for release in fall 2019. Connect with Derik on Twitter @DerikCavignano or visit his website at derikcavignano.com.
Before we share Derik’s Saturday Night suggestions, here is a bit about his book The Art of Dying:
When the bizarre death of a mob foot soldier sparks an escalating war between Boston’s Irish and Italian mafia, Detective Ray Hanley’s relentless search for the truth uncovers evidence of a serial killer obsessed with the art of human suffering. As the body count rises, Detective Hanley must navigate a minefield of crime families, dirty politicians, and crooked cops, while matching wits with a deranged serial killer. Temptation, betrayal, and death threaten to derail the investigation… and justice doesn’t come without a price.
This fast-paced police procedural examines the darkest corners of the human mind, exposes powerful political corruption, and depicts an honorable detective striving to balance the horrors of the job with his commitment to his family.
Be sure to add this book to your Goodreads list or purchase a copy on Amazon.
Now, take it away Derik!
Saturday night reading suggestion: Despite being a horror and thriller author, my all-time favorite book is EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED by Jonathan Safran Foer. It’s a wildly imaginative novel about a young American who travels to Ukraine to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Along the way, he is assisted by a hilarious Ukrainian translator who butchers the English language and a blind driver who requires the help of a seeing-eye dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior. The story switches point of view between the translator, the young man (also named Jonathan Safran Foer), and the ancestors of a Jewish settlement eradicated during the Holocaust. Foer’s writing style is ground-breaking, elegant, and eclectic, and the book, itself, is a work of genius. After reading it for the first time, I immediately returned to the first page and read it over again. If you’ve never read it, check it out… and don’t cheat by seeing the movie—it’s not the same!
Saturday Night Movie Suggestion: I’ll get back to my genre here and recommend “The Shining”, the 1980 horror classic based on Stephen King’s novel of the same title. If you’re part of the younger generation that hasn’t seen it, “The Shining” tells the story of a family holed up for winter in a haunted hotel built on an Indian burial ground. Jack Torrance is a recovering alcoholic who accepts a job as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel when it shuts down for winter, despite learning that a former caretaker once developed cabin fever there and violently murdered his family. Jack’s relationship with his wife is strained and their young son, Danny, has psychic abilities that present him with visions of the hotel’s violent past. But as the ghosts of the hotel become increasingly real, they attempt to turn Jack against his family and instruct him to “correct” his wife and son. The film’s suspense and creep factor are off the charts, thanks to Stephen King’s imagination and Stanley Kubrick’s fantastic directing skills. The acting is also great, with Jack Nicholson brilliantly portraying Jack Torrance’s descent into madness. A long-awaited sequel—Doctor Sleep—features a grown-up Danny Torrance and debuts this November (based on King’s 2013 novel), so if you haven’t seen “The Shining” yet, make sure you check it out in time for “Doctor Sleep”.
Saturday Night Wild Card Suggestion: If you’re looking for a night of fun beyond the tired routine of dinner, bar, or movie, I’d suggest teaming up with some friends and reserving a spot at an Escape Room. If you’ve never heard of one, an Escape Room is a physical challenge where a small group of people assembles inside of a locked room and must solve a series of riddles, puzzles, or clues in order to crack the code and escape before time expires. Each Escape Room is different and the challenges generally follow the theme of the room (e.g., crime and punishment clues for a prison escape or Prohibition-era clues for a 1920s jazz club). The time limit varies but is often 45 minutes to an hour. Escape Rooms are a perfect way to experience something different and enjoy an exhilarating night out with friends.
Fantastic suggestions! Thank you Derik! In addition to buying his book, be sure to check out his website https://www.derikcavignano.com/.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. If you want to be a guest on my Saturday night weekly feature, send me an email at npyles86[at]gmail[dot]com. Fun fact: you don’t need to be an author to be a guest!
We have a couple of these escape room concepts here.