with E.J. Simon
We are delighted to welcome back author E.J. Simon to Omnimystery News, courtesy of iRead Book Tours, which is coordinating his current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find his schedule here.
E.J. visited with us last week, when we discussed his new thriller Death Logs In (Simon/Zef Publishing; October 2014 hardcover, trade paperback and ebook formats) and we asked him to tell us more about the places the characters in his stories visit. He titles his guest post for us today, "Characters That Dine in Real Restaurants".
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Photo provided courtesy of
E.J. Simon
My novels move around the world: New York City, Beverly Hills, Florence, Rome, Saint Tropez, Chicago, … and in each of these places the characters dine in real restaurants, eating the actual meals served in those restaurants. Veal Parmigan at Mario's in Westport, Connecticut, Beef Bourguignon at Chez Dumonet in Paris, Florentine steak at Trattoria Omero in Florence, coffee-crusted duck at Bouchard in Newport.
I make the places and the meals a central part of my stories for several reasons. First, being a second-generation Greek, food has always been important in our daily lives. The dinner table was where the family came together each night — and often where the most significant events in our lives unfolded. This was also a way of ensuring that my stories stayed relatively light — an easy read. Although some of the topics are quite serious — life, death, infidelity, religion, corruption — just as in our own lives, we still have to carry on each day. We still have to eat. Our dinners should be the place where we can relax.
I believe the frequent travel and dining in both my books helps keep them light and easy, the way we perhaps wish our lives could be — but often are not.
I don't try and write serious literature. I'm not trying to be Tolstoy — I can't even stand to read Tolstoy. I've set out to simply write great commercial fiction that's a quick read and that allows readers to escape, while still touching on the topics we try to escape from — but never really can.
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E.J. Simon was the CEO of GMAC Global Relocation Services (a division of GM) and the Managing Director of Douglas Elliman, the largest real estate company in NY. He is a consultant to many leading private equity firms and has held senior level positions at prominent financial services companies. He is a world traveler, food enthusiast and lives in Connecticut.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at EJSimon.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Death Logs In
E.J. Simon
An Alex and Michael Nicholas Mystery
Some of the most powerful people in the world want to kill Michael Nicholas. Only his brother, Alex can save him — the problem is that Alex is dead.
It's been almost a year since Alex Nicholas, a Queens based underworld Boss, was gunned down. After Alex's brutal murder, Michael inherited not only his brother's business — but his enemies. Michael is now a key player in a world he once feared. By day, he is the head of a Fortune 500 company by night, the CEO of Tartarus, one of the worlds largest illegal gambling operations.
Before his death, Alex invested heavily in breakthrough artificial intelligence software so that he could live forever. It worked. In his virtual form, Alex can communicate with Michael and monitor information — and people — in ways the NSA would envy.
It is Alex who discovers Michael's life is in danger. He detects plots that reach from the darkest corners of Queens, to the highest officials in the Vatican — and they all want Michael dead.
Michael is now in a race to save his life, but he is never alone — Alex is there to help him navigate through this maze of life and death. Also protecting Michael from the forces closing in around him is Sindy Steele, a beautiful — and lethal bodyguard.
How far is Michael willing to go to save his own life — and that of his family? Guided only by a familiar face on a computer screen, will the information Alex discovers allow Michael to go from being the hunted to the hunter?
