Tripsy South's Blog

Got an email from Kirkus today:

“I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to let you know that DARLINGTON was selected by our Indie editors to be included in the 12/1 issue of Kirkus Reviews. Congratulations on the feature! Less than 10% of Indie authors are selected for this.”

Hello!
Thank you for your kind support. I hope you're enjoying my first two novels, Suicide Tango and Darlington.
I need beta-readers for my next novel. Not revealing the summary or characters yet.
Interested? Email me: tripsysouth@gmail.com
Grathias!
Tripsy

Got an interesting missive from a prominent film executive who's interested in DARLINGTON. No promises here; he's just reading the novel now.
By the way, they produced American Made with Tom Cruise, Roman J. Israel, Esq. with Denzel W., Hacksaw Ridge and Keepers. Cool.

My second novel was just released. All say it's a wild ride!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/194...

I wrote this baby for peeps who are fucked up like me. It was a brain dump of a million emotions that just happened to splash out as a story with useful messages.

A hit man finds no easy career exit in this Florida thriller.

Sunny Sarasota starkly contrasts with South’s (Suicide Tango, 2019, etc.) dark story, in which titular character Tommy Darlington works as a well-paid assassin hired by “unforgiving men with silent billions.” A former Army ranger and low-profile artist, Tommy initially has no problem with the deadly commissions he refers to as “taking out the trash.”

His girlfriend, Rachel, a successful novelist, supports the couple, as publicly Tommy ekes out a living as a nighttime cabbie. Rachel knows nothing about her boyfriend’s deadly business or his ill-gotten gains that amount to millions, all of which he has hidden and earmarked to fund their retirement in Costa Rica.

Witnessing a higher-up known as the Old Man feed Tommy’s bespoke-suited handler, Alfred, to a dozen alligators, the hit man has a change of heart about his line of work.

The shift in his attitude is bad for business, and his employers take notice. Then Rachel disappears. Readers may feel an adrenalin rush as Tommy desperately tries to find her. There’s a disconnect between his incomprehension for his employers’ “casual disregard for human life” and his own sniper activities, although some kills bother him. Snuffing out an elegant older woman who heads a foundation that a dirty organization wants in its portfolio, Tommy cries along with the
doomed victim.

Fans of the award-winning television series Barry will find similarities between the show’s main character and Tommy, as both are damaged, military-trained hit men with a desire to change but seemingly no way to do so.

Told primarily in the first person, the novel will elicit readers’ sympathies for Tommy’s impaired psyche as he works for men
dealing in the “top three commodities in the world: firearms, drugs, and humans.”

The author’s descriptions—be they sexy, humorous, or terrifying—are notable: for example, “she fragranced her way to the bedroom,” “his huge sausage
fingers,” and “hollow eye sockets were illuminated by a deadlight that made me rocket-vomit and cough in rolling spasms.”

A gripping crime tale that becomes as complicated as its main character.

—Kirkus Reviews

I thank the more than 2,700 loyal readers who entered our Goodreads Giveaway recently.

DARLINGTON was mailed out earlier this week.

You should be receiving the book the first week in September.

Enjoy!

CheersCiao,

~Tripsy

1. Take your five fave novels, rip out all pages (in order), and RETYPE each one, word for word. Save each in separate file.

2. After 30-60 days, edit each "manuscript" as if it were YOUR OWN. Make it better with each successive edit.

3. Your subconscious will learn from these exercises that this is the style of writing you wish to emulate.

I greatly appreciate all of you who took the time to read Suicide Tango and comment on the story. And I pray I can entertain you even better with my next one!

My next novel is DARLINGTON, about a hitman in the Tampa Bay area. It's "Killing Eve invades Old Florida" and is a dynamic thriller.

Don't worry: it's not quirky like Suicide Tango, but designed traditionally like other thrillers and mystery novels.

Here's a summary:

Tommy Darlington is one hot mess: a former Army Ranger who walks through life as a closet anxiety-depressive. He’s also the largest distributor of pimp body parts in the good State of Florida.

Sarasota's de facto hit man works for Tampa Bay's hidden hand, the secret billionaires who conduct their dirty business well behind the black curtain, and who have no issue killing anyone who gets in the way of their illegal business activities.

Over time, Darlington discovers disturbing facts about his bosses, even well beyond his own Code of Deathics and sizable body count, and begins to grow an itchy conscience.

Now on a personal mission to clean up Tampa Bay, he encounters all that is evil and crooked, forever trying to bend it into a righteous path for good people to respect and follow.

Still, you don’t ever want to find yourself in Darlington’s crosshairs or on the business end of his blade.

Darlington is a clever and gripping thriller for those who love the taste and smell of Old Florida, and who can never get enough of these unforgettable tough guys with thinking minds and powerful hearts:
-John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee (The Deep Blue Goodbye)
-Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford (Tampa Burn)
-Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone (Stone Cold)
-James W. Hall’s Thorn (Tropical Freeze)
-Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole (The Monkey’s Raincoat)
-Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch)
-Dennis Lehane (A Drink Before the War)