David Thayer

<p> Time for a long overdue chat with Detective Mickey Reidel the protagonist of FLAMINGO DAWN. Mickey moved from a supporting role in THE WORKING DEAD to the lead in FLAMINGO DAWN. In a surprise move Mickey has chosen to ignore his author and put up a MySpace Profile.

<p> Mickey you’re forty one years old. Aren’t you afraid that MySpace reaches the wrong demographic?

Yeah, I’m scared shitless about that. Keeps me awake at night. Oh, wait a minute, according to my profile I never sleep.

<p> Tell us something shameful about yourself. People love that.

I shot Mother Theresa. I’d like to say I didn’t mean it or that I was drunk at the time, but I did mean it although it’s kind of funny if you think about it. I shot a poster of Mother Theresa that I put up on my bedroom door.

<p> You live in Kew Gardens, Queens and love garage sales.

Yeah, I live in a big house my parents bought way back when. My sister and I inherited the house. She and her husband lived with me for a while before they moved out to Rockaway. Some guys I know are gonna remodel my kitchen. And, yeah, I go to garage sales. One time I went to a garage sale on York Avenue and bought a famous painting for seventy five cents.

<p> Did you acquire the Mother Theresa poster at a garage sale?

No, it came from a Catholic church over toward Maspeth. They had a whole bunch of them.

<p> You list your hobbies as guns and Tylenol.

That’s a joke, I was kidding. I like to cook, paint, I collect Irish lace.

<p> How did feel about being the lead in FLAMINGO DAWN?

Well, shit, it was about time. Armand DiPino was the lead in what, three books? Sure he’s younger and better looking but let’s face it when those literary agents read my shit…you know what I’m saying.

<p> So you resent DiPino?

Hell no. I’m saying he had three cracks at this thing and now I get one. I mean we had a famous literary agent on the line and he blew it, man, he whiffed. Life’s tough, you know? I’m a lot more mainstream; I own a house, I got a boss truck, a detached garage, a cool girlfriend, a nine year old daughter. DiPino lives in the West Village. He does his laundry in a basement.

<p> What sets you apart from other fictional detectives?

My problem is I’m always getting tangled up with ordinary people who’ve broken the law. I’m a sucker which is why I maintain my distance. My house is neat and orderly. I don’t drink a lot and I don’t like to socialize too much. ADAs and whatnot think I’m a wiseguy and I’m always pissing important people off, but I don’t do that for sport. If I can keep someone decent out of the system I do it. Hey, my house is paid for.

<p> Thanks Mickey.

Oh, wait, there’s been a rewrite: I don’t have a cool girlfriend anymore. I need some control over here, you know?

This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2007 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Working Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.