Welcome to Escape with a Writer Sunday, David Albertyn!
I had the pleasure of not only reviewing this book, but
meeting the author who is a really great guy! I have to say I can easily see
this book as a movie…
The choices we make have a ripple effect on others whether we realize it
or not. Tyron Shaw's return to Las Vegas after his stint in the military brings
the consequences of the choices he and his circle of friends to the surface.
Undercard is a riveting novel with well-rounded characters and a story that
will keep you guessing until the end. I definitely look forward to reading
future novels by this author! (as well as attending future events!)
David Albertyn (1983) was born in Durban, South
Africa, and grew up in Toronto, Canada. He studied at Queen’s University and
the Humber School for Writers, and coached tennis until the publication of his
first novel, “Undercard” (2019), which was a finalist for the Forest of Reading
Evergreen Award, and made 49th Shelf’s Top Fiction List of 2019
and CrimeReads’ list of “8 Debut Novels You Should Read This June” (2020).
Among many sports, he primarily competed in track and field growing up, then in
tennis as an adult. When he completes a draft of a novel, he does as much yoga
and running in nature as he can, promptly burns out, and as soon as he’s
recovered, it’s time to work on a new draft. His goal is to
write visceral novels that are both thrilling and meaningful.
What would you say are your strengths
as an author?
I think making a story exciting and
entertaining is something I’ve had for a long time. Particularly action scenes
I’ve been studying and writing since I was a child. When I came across a great
chase, fight, or shootout in a book, I would read it over and over and try to
analyze how the author had made that reading experience so thrilling, then I
would try my best to emulate their techniques.
I
would also say that cutting between multiple perspectives, and between past and
present, like I do in Undercard, is a
strength of mine. I believe this might have come from studying Film at
university and editing short films.
Where
I’ve worked very hard to develop my writing is stylistically, and particularly
in descriptions and detail. It’s been a lot of years of intense effort to shore
up that side of my writing.
But
what I would say is my best strength as an author is that I really dig deep in
my writing. I dig deep within myself and use a lot of emotion to breathe life
and depth into my characters. Writing is by no means an effortless experience
for me. It takes a lot from me.
How often do you write, and do you
write using a strict routine?
I don’t always write. I take breaks
between drafts to recover, and when I am promoting a release, like I am with Undercard being recently released in the
US now, I try to put all my energy into that. But when I am in a writing phase,
I do follow a fairly strict routine. I try to get up early (it used to be 6 am
although increasingly it’s 5 am) and write first thing in the morning. I’ll try
to have a session of an hour or two to start the day. Then if I have the time
and the energy, I’ll try to get in two more sessions of about an hour over the
course of the day. Occasionally I can do four sessions in a day, but that is a
lot for me. I usually write five to six days a week, leaving a day or two to
refresh my mind.
Five years from now, where do you see
yourself as a writer?
That’s a very good question. I try not to
think about results too much and just focus on what I can control, but I hope
that in five years I have at least one, and ideally two, more books that I’m
truly proud of. I’m very proud of Undercard,
and if I could create two more books that I feel the same way about, that I’ve
poured my heart and soul into and feel like I’ve created something worthwhile,
then I’ll feel very happy.
If you could offer one piece of advice
to a novice writer, what would it be?
I’ve said this in other interviews, and
I’d like to say something different but I’m going to say it again because I
think it’s the most important thing when it comes to writing, or any skill:
keep improving. Improving is more important than any short-term success.
Finding ways to continuously improve at your writing is what will make your
writing experience richer, will make your work more interesting, and will
create opportunities for you over time. Try different things. Push yourself in
new ways. Don’t be afraid of setbacks. Don’t be afraid of failure. Know that
anything good that was ever written took multiple drafts. Know that anything great that was ever written took near
countless drafts. It is in all of us to improve. You can do it, and you will be
rewarded for it.
What would you consider to be the best
compliment a reader could give your book?
These are great questions, Diane. I never
really thought about that before. I think the best thing anyone could say to me
about my book is that it affected them. It meant something to them. Reading it
was a worthwhile experience that they won’t forget. Hearing that would mean a
lot to me. But just to be clear, I’m not going to turn down a compliment. Any
compliment I’ll take, and I’ll appreciate it.
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a murder mystery
dramedy set in the tennis club world. I think it could be very funny. I’m
really working hard on making it as funny as possible—a deviation from Undercard, which I tried to make as
visceral, gritty, and intense as possible. There is also a lot of sex in it. I
feel like it could really be a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to finish it so I
can share it with everybody.
Where can you
find out more?
UNDERCARD
Set
over the course of twenty-four exhilarating hours, Undercard is
the story of four childhood friends, now in their early thirties, unexpectedly
reunited by a high-profile prizefight in a Las Vegas casino . . . and an even
higher-profile murder.When Tyron Shaw returns to his hometown of Las Vegas after eleven years in the Marines, he’s surprised to discover that two of his best friends from childhood are all anyone is talking about: Antoine Deco, three years out of prison, hasn’t lost a boxing match since his release, and tonight is fighting in the undercard to the fight of the decade; and Keenan Quinn, a police officer who killed an unarmed teenager and escaped punishment from the courts, is the subject of a protest tomorrow morning.
Tyron has trouble reconciling either story with his memory of these men, and the situation escalates when he runs into the love of his life, Naomi Wilks, a retired WNBA player, basketball coach, and estranged wife of Keenan. As Tyron reconnects with his old community, he will learn over the next twenty-four hours that much has changed since he left Las Vegas . . . and there is much more that he never understood.
The Reef, an aquarium-themed casino and the hottest resort on the Strip, is the backdrop for this bullet-paced narrative, where loyalty to one’s friends, one’s family, and one’s community are ever at odds, and every choice has deadly repercussions.
“A rich, exhilarating
story…Albertyn creates a pressure-cooker scenario for his characters, but
manages amidst the adrenaline to bring out moments of insight and humanity.”
—Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads
Editor-in-Chief
“[Albertyn] successfully
generates a gritty, dark atmosphere in the novel that draws on the best
elements of noir to keep readers edgy and absorbed. His interiors are dark and
gloomy, and his exteriors make us feel agoraphobic and threatened in a vague,
undefined way.”
—New York Journal of
Books
“Fast-paced, fearless, and
psychologically astute, Undercard is at once a terrific thriller and a sharp
commentary on our turbulent times.”
— David Bezmozgis,
author of Immigrant City
“Undercard is a
dizzying rollercoaster of suspense and action that examines the complexities of
brotherhood and the consequences of tragic masculinity. Albertyn’s
pitch-perfect understanding of the bonds of friendship gives this novel a
powerful emotional center. If The Hangover were a serious
suspense novel, it would be Undercard.”
—S. A. Cosby,
author of Blacktop Wasteland
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