Monroeville author goes ‘noir’ with 1st mystery novel
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Don Ammon of Monroeville grew up writing short plays performed by other children in his neighborhood.
By the time he graduated from Penn-Trafford High School, he’d read all 86 of Agatha Christie’s mystery novels and was ready to move to Devonshire, England, to do exactly what Christie was doing.
That didn’t quite go as planned, and when Ammon was teaching English and communications at Seton Hill University and Saint Vincent College he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991.
He continued teaching until 2005. After that, he had more time to devote to writing.
In 2015, Ammon and a former student co-wrote a screenplay, “Summerlings,” which won Best Feature Screenplay at the Steeltown Indie film festival.
“ ‘Summerlings’ is a coming-of-age indie film set in the Westinghouse Valley in 1985 during the collapse of the steel industry in our area,” said Ammom, referencing the areas of Trafford, Level Green, Pitcairn and Braddock. “This is the backdrop where this local kid meets a new kid whose father is in town to sell Westinghouse. They fall in love, and are not even sure they know what that means at the time. There are socioeconomic differences, and they are learning about their feelings for each other.”
Ammon, 59, recently published his first novel, “Toxic High,” plumbing the dark dealings of high school classmates as one’s disappearance ripples into tragedy for the community. Two students at the fictional Lawrenceville High find themselves drawn together as unlikely partners investigating a mystery that grows to involve the entire town.
Ammon said the novel was inspired by an Elvis Costello concert he attended in 2017.
“I was listening to him sing ‘Watching the Detectives,’ and on the screen behind him, film noir movie posters and pulp fiction book covers were being projected,” Ammon said. “I wanted to write a noir screenplay set in high school.”
The book is being released through Mt. Pleasant-based Starlit Waters Publishing. Owner Linda Harkcom was impressed after reading the “Summerlings” screenplay, a story of friendship and tragedy set in 1980s Pitcairn.
“I just wept. It was so incredibly moving,” Harkcom said. “When I had the opportunity to sign Don to my new publishing company, I didn’t hesitate. I knew whatever he would create would be incredible, and ‘Toxic High’ did not disappoint.”
Ammon originally wanted “Toxic High” to be a feature film, but found that he couldn’t write the story in such a limited space.
“I think I had 10 drafts,” he said. “It (the idea) was just too big to be a movie.”
So, Ammon rewrote the screenplay to be a 10-part series, which gave him about 450 pages to work with. Still, he wasn’t satisfied with the results of his storytelling.
“I couldn’t get it to work as a movie; it just works better as a novel,” he said.
He’s pleased with the reviews from critics and readers.
“The reviewers agree it’s a fast-paced page-turner with a twisted plot and satisfying ending,” Ammon said. “I’m thrilled.”
Ammon pointed to the many differences between writing a screenplay and a novel.
“The biggest difference is the length,” Ammon said. “As a rule of thumb, one page of a screenplay is equal to one minute of screen time. So you got about 90 pages to tell your story.”
“The other major difference is that you can only write what the viewer can see. You have to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell.’ ”
Every word and sentence has to be there for a reason, he said.
“The language has to be very precise,” Ammon said. “Precise in language and what scenes you’re showing. You’re asking, ‘Why is this here?’ ”
Ammon recalls the words of one of his professors at Trinity College in Carmarthen, Wales, when asking someone to edit your work: “Ask for their improval, not their approval.”
“Toxic High” is available through Amazon.com. A direct link to purchase the book is at StarlitWaters.com.