Tom Ellis is a political junkie. He's the type of guy who considers CSPAN coverage "Must See TV." He's also the type who follows local election night returns and reads columns by George Will. In other words, he knows his political stuff. And his trained perception has revealed that all the good dramatic activity during peak elections, from dirty politics and past scandals, always seem to surface at the most inopportune times.
That dramatic vein was recently mined in the movie, "The Contender," which focused on the partisan tactics used to smear the reputation of a vice presidential nominee, which included digging up allegations of past sexual misconduct.
Tom Ellis
Ellis has chosen a similar storytelling tract to follow in his first novel, "Candidate to Kill." The novel is available at area bookstores, and Ellis will be on hand at Borders Books, 700 N.H., for a book signing this Sunday.
The Topeka writer knew the political suspense genre would mesh well with his own interest in politics.
"During elections, there is always drama during unusual changes in leadership," Ellis says. "This starts with the premise of 'what if things don't go as planned in changing leaders?' If you like suspense, this has it."
The novel follows the life of Joe Murphy, an ambitious county prosecutor who is selected by a state party hierarchy to fill out the term of a Midwestern congressman who is killed just prior to re-election. Murphy is viewed as a safe interim to fill out the slot and help retain control of the congressional seat. But during the preselection investigation, the party misses a dark episode from his college days.
That secret will come back to plague Murphy's campaign in the form of blackmail, corruption and greed. In other words, normal, harmless political stuff.
For Ellis, the novel evolved out of his part-time hobby of writing short stories. As the president's assistant at Washburn University, Ellis has his hands full with office procedures. Telling tales of political power, greed, justice love and corruption is his way to unwind at the end of the day. So "Candidate to Kill" evolved out of his habit of writing short stories at night.
"I write from around 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.," Ellis says. "People always seemed to like the short stories I wrote, so I thought, 'What if I took the time to really write a novel?' It got into my blood. It's recreation for me."
Part of his enjoyment was derived from seeing how the story would get to its high-octane conclusion. He had worked out the intro and ending, but that pesky middle section full of plot and dialogue was originally a mystery itself.
"I started with a beginning and end, but I had no idea how I was going to get there. I was as surprised as anyone would be when I was writing it and realized that one character had to die. It started out just as political intrigue, and then I realized that there would be no story without his death," he says.
Ellis used his observations of the political scene, coupled with his love of political suspense thrillers, to write his own take on the subject. He loves reading a good story and hopes his book creates the same sensation in readers.
"I want them to enjoy this story," Ellis says. "I like literature, poetry and a well-turned phrase. But when I read for pleasure, I want a well-told story. I like page-turners the best. Hopefully, this is a book people will turn the pages on."
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