WRITTING
Dan has been writing for the last 15 years. Scripts. Short stories. And now a novel. He's workshopped his scripts in the SODEC sprint for your Script competition (2012), in Praxis' WFF Script Workshop (2013), and has produced innumerable shorts that have played around the world, including at the Just For Laughs Film Fest in Montreal.
His latest endeavour, BIG FISH, is a comedic thriller set in PEI.
Cal is a smart-ass ex-junkie with a chip on his shoulder and a bad back. When he learns that his estranged alcoholic uncle Johan has died, Cal flies across the country to Prince Edward Island (PEI) to handle his estate, and his sister Maggie reluctantly follows to help. When they get there, they learn about the man they chose to ignore for the better part of their lives: Johan’s multi-million dollar fish farm, his secret lover, his money-hungry business partner and a potential conspiracy that could jeopardize everything Johan worked for. The further they dig, the stranger things begin looking: missing prescription meds, X-rated home videos that expose more than than a little skin, and a seemingly insane cash offer for Johan’s shares in the company. Uncovering Johan’s life leaves them questioning whether his death was an accident, suicide, or murder. Ultimately, both siblings must choose between walking away with their uncle’s fortune or risking their lives to expose the truth. Bigger Fish resembles the pulpy comedic work of Elmore Leonard, like The Big Bounce. These are stories about murders and conspiracies, told with a sense of humour. They cover dark subjects but manage to keep a light atmosphere.
You can read or listen to the novel on AMAZON.
In 2020, Dan also launched a limited PodPlay, MTL BIKE THIEF. You can listen to it over on APPLE PODCASTS, or wherever you like to listen to things that kill time. MTL BIKE THIEF is a comedic murder mystery pod-play, created for the singular purpose of telling a fun if slightly derivative story! The play deals with murder, revolution and bike theft during Montreal’s summer of red square student protests.
Sarah works in the IT department of a major Montreal university. She’s spent the last decade of her life acting like a student: partying, working odd hours, living in slovenly conditions, etc. But after dating Allain, a straight-laced associate professor in Urban Planning, she knows that it might be time to grow up. At the same time, the students in Montreal are restless. They want free education, they want a responsible government and they want a greater say in the future of their city. It’s in this chaos that Sarah’s story unfolds.
