I’m honored to have read all of Dennis Hart’s books. Each has something different to offer the reader but they all have his special brand of humor. Even in Life Minus 3 1/2, which is based on the true story of how he embezzled millions of dollars from the company he worked for, there are moments of humor threaded throughout. Thanks Dennis!!
Be sure and read all the way to the bottom so you can get the answers Dennis gave to his questions…they will make you laugh!
Check out Dennis’ books at the link below.
http://www.amazon.com/Dennis-Hart/e/B0039X0AIM/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1421368465&sr=1-2-ent
“Gulf Boulevard by Dennis Hart is a delight. A rerun of Neil Simon’s Odd Couple with a thriller engine . . . a collision with seriously amusing results . . .”
San Francisco Book review
“David Barry fans will welcome Hart’s comic thriller . . .This is neither great literature nor politically correct, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Publishers Weekly
“Hart has a way with one one-liners and left-handed descriptions . . . There’s plenty of good fun in Gulf Boulevard with a sequel to come.”
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews for Life Minus 3 1/2
A habitual gambler recounts a life of bad decisions in sports books and corporate embezzlement, and the effect it had on his family.
No one’s saying Dennis Hart had it easy. A father at 17 with an unstable girlfriend and bills to pay, he shelved his nascent college career to begin life in the working world. There—facing dire straits that many of us have encountered at one time or another—Hart gave in to the first of many opportunities to bend the law and profit while doing so.
From there, despite his lack of formal training, Hart was skilled enough as an accountant to land jobs in numerous financial departments at mid-sized companies. When he and two colleagues began their own precious-metals company (and Hart began a separate travel agency), he developed the means and the structure to begin cashing illegal checks to support his gambling habit.
His sports bets—and the Hollywood-named hustlers who are on his tail—continue to multiply while he draws money from his companies and conceals the misdeeds on the balance sheet. As Hart juggles this downward-spiraling mélange of family, lawyers, hustlers and hit men, Hart’s readers will feel the stress once corporate managers finally notice the balance sheet irregularities.
The inherent suspense throughout contrasts well with Hart’s candid and effortless writing style; he recounts every mistake from a refreshingly honest and self-effacing perspective. What may strike readers most is the ultimately tragic nature of Hart’s story. A handsome, intelligent, charismatic man, he seemed to have the world at his feet. But a series of bad decisions and weakened resistance to temptation sent him down a path that twisted toward lifelong infamy.
In a moment of bleak anguish, Hart describes his future wife agreeing to a first date with him: “It would prove to be the worst decision she ever made.” In the end, perhaps Hart’s greatest victory is keeping his wife, his dream of Florida and his readers on his side.
Recommended both as a suspenseful story and a cautionary tale of yielding to temptation.
FIVE ON FRIDAY QUESTIONS…OR I SHOULD SAY THIRTY-SIX ON FRIDAY!!
If you could snap your fingers and make one thing happen, what would it be and why?
The obvious answer is world peace, but I’m sure that’s been spoken for, so I’ll snap my fingers and eliminate mosquitoes because those buggers deserve to be eradicated.
If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
I’d say hesitant, but hold on a minute.
If you could choose your last meal, and you weren’t in prison, what would it be?
Prime Rib and Maine lobster, with a side order of chocolate Haagen-Daz ice cream.
If you could change one thing about yourself, physical, mental, emotional, what would it be and why?
I’d say to be taller so my mental state wouldn’t be so emotional when I’m looking up at a woman I’m attracted to wearing six-inch stilettos.
If there was one person, real, fiction or fantasy, you could spend time with, who would it be and why?
Adam. So I could warn him about Eve.
What are the top three things on your bucket list?
Living forever.
Meeting an alien from another planet.
Retiring on a warm beach.
What’s the one thing you do every day that you enjoy the least, but do it anyway?
Wake up.
Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks?
Yes, when I try to write anything serious, it ends up humorous. I can’t control it.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
In a hammock stretched between two palm trees close to warm water and balmy breezes filled with salt-laden air.
What makes you laugh?
Anything funny.
Name one thing you’ve learned from your heroine.
I don’t take drugs.
What is the most romantic thing a man/partner has ever done for you? Have you put it in a book?
She took out the trash one day. No, it was too special a moment to be in my books.
Who would you choose to play the two lead roles in your book, if it was made into a movie?
In my book Gulf Boulevard, I’d cast Jason Bateman to play Jason Najarian and John Goodman to play Sal, Two Scales, Scalise.
What is your greatest fear?
Speaking to a hostile crowd.
What is your favorite thing to do during your spare time…besides writing?
Gardening.
What do you like best about yourself? Least?
Best: Survivor. Least: That I get myself into situations that enable me to claim I’m a survivor.\
What is one strong memory that has stuck with you since childhood…and why?
The blooming boobs on Brenda Smith, my first infatuation.
What is one of your favorite quotes?
“Never miss a chance to keep your mouth shut.” Robert Peck
Do you have a secret? Something you’ve never told anyone…just answer yes or no.
Maybe. I can’t remember.
Do you have any tattoos? If so, care to say what and where?
No tats.
Do you read horoscopes?
No. I don’t want to predict the future, only the past.
What’s your favorite dessert?
Anything related to chocolate.
Do you write in silence or listen to music?
Silence. I have to be able to answer my own questions.
What do you want readers to know about you that’s not in your bio?
I’m addicted to M & M’s.
What is your favorite book and why?
Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille. I couldn’t put it down.
Do you have any family traditions? If so, what?
Yes. We all eventually pass away.
If you could be a character from one of your books, who would it be and why?
I’d be Dennis Hart in the book, Life Minus 3 ½ and I’d be Jason Najarian in the books Gulf Boulevard and Sand Key.
What’s the best advice you ever got…doesn’t have to be about writing.
From the movie Shawshank Redemption: “Get busy living or get busy dying.”
Do you belong to a critique group?
There is a coterie of miscreants loitering in my head that critique everything I do.
What’s the best advice you can give a new writer?
Write what you want, not what others want.
Do you remember your first kiss? Care to elaborate?
If my memory serves me well, right after the doctor whacked my butt, a beautiful nurse kissed me on the cheek.
Your four fantasy guests for a dinner party…living or dead.
Dean Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Rickles, and Steve Martin.
Where were you when JFK was shot?
I was 10 years old, in the hospital recovering from a broken femur. I will never forget the nurses and orderlies embracing each other as they stared at a wall-mounted television.
Do you sing in the shower or car? What type of music?
I sing in the car. My playlist is eclectic from The Beatles to Bruno Mars.
Do you think you resemble any famous person?
If I did, they wouldn’t be famous.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?
Walking into a ladies restroom at a function and thinking, “They finally got rid of urinals and added privacy stalls.” OR, I was on vacation at Club Med in Cancun and was trying hard to impress this Houston gal named Nancy when the shrimp was served. I’d never had shrimp before, so I bit in to look cool. Nancy looked at me and said, “Don’t you take the shell off first?” I froze while thinking the shrimp WAS a little crunchy. My reply, “Oh…yeah this is how we eat shrimp in Boston.”
