Happenstance Press Release

Once Again Using His Hometown of West Orange, New Jersey,
as a Setting, the Intricate Storyline Includes
a Local Colonial Legend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release )—October 9, 2013—Author John Dandola's
newest mystery novel debuts today at the Frankfurt International
Bookfair. Since 1949, that German city has hosted the world's largest
gathering of publishers expressly for the sale of international book
rights.

Dandola's vast knowledge of vintage movie-making and the inner-
workings of the Hollywood Studio System are things which have been
savored by film buffs but his descriptions of World War II era small-
town life in West Orange, New Jersey, have won both national and
international praise. A part of that praise is that these mysteries are
very well-drawn character studies not just whodunits.

Dead by Happenstance is the fifth in his 1940's West Orange mysteries
which feature a sometime show-business bodyguard. That character is
based on a very real person—the author's grandfather. Although some
of the stories move to faraway places, there is always a West Orange
anchor along with an appearance by Teddy Edison, the youngest son
of Thomas Alva Edison. The Edison laboratory still sits on Main Street
as a National Historic Site. In real life, Dandola's grandfather worked as a personal messenger boy to the great inventor and Teddy Edison, who followed in his father's footsteps, became a friend. It's such details which make readers unable to discern fact from fiction in a most enjoyable fashion. Perhaps Mystery Scene Magazine summed it up best: "Dandola presents Edison family history, small-town politics, and Tinsel Town gossip of the period and melds them seamlessly."

A subplot of this newest novel involves the protagonist's eleven-year-old son and his teenage babysitter on a treasure hunt under the guidance of Teddy Edison.

"I had created the teenage girl in the previous novel so it was natural for her to recur in this one. She's based on someone very near and dear who, as a child, had a Lenni-Lenape arrowhead collection," Dandola explains. "The Lenni-Lenapes were an Indian tribe local to New Jersey who migrated up and down the state. In West Orange, they made seasonal camps along the brook which runs through town and, prior to our current over-development, arrowheads could still be found along the banks. In this novel, arrowheads lead the way to colonial treasure. Why? Because of a local legend."

That legend was prevalent up until the 1950's, after which it was gradually forgotten. As a child, Dandola heard about it from relatives and from a family friend who also happened to be the town historian. Just as with much of West Orange's history, Dandola is now the only one who still remembers.

"It's one of those stories which could actually be true," he admits, "although we'll never be sure due to the amount of landfill, concrete, and pavement which now prevents anyone from finding out."

Provable or not, it's that grasp of the local historic scheme which makes Dandola's novels ring so true to time and place. Here is the novel's synopsis:

There is a very long-standing tradition for novelists to celebrate and to become associated with a particular locale especially when that locale is as important as the characters in a story. Yet while no one other than Dandola has ever presented West Orange to the world in such a manner, praise for his writing only comes from outside the town's borders. West Orange, its public library, its local newspaper, and its two local internet "newspapers" shun all mention of the author and his work while self-published comic books, self-published poetry collections, and politically-sponsored amateur threatre groups get front page coverage. This stems from the fact that the town is a highly politically-controlled environment wherein local politicians seek easy publicity by attaching their names to everything; local publications actually ask permission to run articles; and the public library doesn't realize that it is legally required to be an autonomous non-political body. In the midst of all this, Dandola has openly and steadfastly refused to allow his work to become political fodder.

"I was alone in the room when I created my books. There wasn't a politician anywhere to be seen or deserving of any sort of credit," Dandola says. "I use the town as a backdrop because the very positive view of how West Orange once was deserves to be remembered. I have a stake in that because my family has lived here for 250-plus years. Politicians not only come and go but they have done a tremendous amount of harm to this town's reputation and to its physical appearance—things I take very personally. I won't trade favors with them just to get local public acknowledgement."

And yet not giving public acknowledgement to Dandola still hasn't stopped West Orange politicians from repeatedly using the author's material without his permission and without giving him due credit as the source. That simple concept of intellectual property has delivered its legal repercussions to them time and again by Dandola's attorneys.

"It's become rather adversarial due to the local politicians' false sense of self-importance and entitlement," Dandola says. "But that's only to the town's detriment. For me, the internet has leveled the playing field and important venues like the Frankfurt Book Fair promote my work worldwide."

Dead by Happenstance is published by Compass Point Mysteries (326 pages) and will be available online exclusively at http://www.Biblio.com or it can be ordered directly from the publisher at http://www.QuincannonGroup.com/DelPlatoMysteries.html.

Dandola's publisher was one of the first in a growing list of independent publishers which have stopped selling through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The author has also resisted e-books not due to their format but due to the problem of security. His explanation is simple: "Digitalizing anything makes copying all the more easy therefore increasing potential theft and piracy which, in turn, robs an author of income. That's why my books will have to remain as old-fashioned books for the moment."

Among John Dandola's professional affiliations are: the Mystery Writers of America for his novels; the Writers Guild of America for his screenplays; and the Dramatists Guild of America for his stage plays. He frequently teaches and lectures.

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