Arts & Entertainment

La Grange Author Takes Novel Approach to Writing First Fiction Effort

A screenplay usually comes after a book—but La Grange author turned the process on its head with his debut novel, "Recalled to Life."

Dan Burns has the look of a writer down pat.

His downtown La Grange office (which this reporter envies) features the requisite leather chair, along with black-and-white headshots of famous authors and inspirational quotes about the craft of writing pinned to the wall.

But with two published books under his belt, including the just-released novel Recalled to Life, he’s not just putting on appearances—Burns is the real deal.

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“I learned the value of hard work at an early age,” he said. “If you’re going to do it, do it right.”

For Burns, a 22-year resident of La Grange, that meant developing a unique process where he writes a screenplay first that he then adapts and fleshes out as a novel.

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“It is completely different,” he said, “but it works for me.”

Burns said a screenplay's simplified structure helps him to see if it makes sense to expand the story into a book.

The story is also ready to film should Hollywood come calling.

“By the sheer process (of turning a novel into a screenplay), you have to make cuts, and a lot of times the essence changes because so much is cut,” he said. “People who read the book, in this case it will be what you read.”

Recalled to Life tells the story of three generations of the O’Hara family—son, father and grandfather—and how a seemingly perfect life can change in an instant.

The story built from a single, relatable image: a father waiting to pick up his son from school.

“It’s a typical family unit put in more extraordinary circumstances,” Burns said.

Every character, except for one that Burns said would be obvious, stems from something in his own personality.

It’s quite a departure from Burns’ first book, a nonfiction job interview guide entitled The First 60 Seconds. Burns gleaned the tips from the 14 years he co-owned a software-consulting firm that allowed clients to interview their prospective consultants before bringing them on board. Burns continues to keep a foot in the corporate world by teaching an MBA class at DePaul.

Burns held a book release party at Hammer Boutique last week attended by more than 100 guests.

“It’s just another indication of how our neighbors in La Grange support local businesses and artists,” Burns said.

(Hammer Boutique also helped facilitate the book’s cover: It features a painting Burns bought at the shop several years ago. “It encapsulated the essence of the story,” he said.)

Now comes many months of promotion. Burns did a two-year tour with his first book and is hoping to find similar momentum with Recalled to Life.

He’s also already hard at work on his next projects, a collection of short stories and a Chicago crime mystery that, true to form, he’s first writing as a screenplay.

“I have enough thoughts and projects and ideas to keep me busy for 10 years,” Burns said.

To learn more about Dan Burns' work or order Recalled to Life, visit www.danburnsauthor.com/.


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