Zack Slingsby
Author Interview - Zack Slingsby
Author of Ballad of the Gangster's Daughter
Serena Magic is the gifted middle child of a criminal from the Bronx. By the time she is twelve, her father Gerard has cobbled together enough street victories to relocate their family to the affluent suburbs of Connecticut. All is lush and green until the tranquility of their escape is viciously disrupted when a series of tragedies claims one Magic daughter after another.
Spanning seven deaths over five decades, each chapter tells the loss of a different sister. And every funeral reveals two paths for Serena’s future: one where she can satisfy her desire for adventure and another where she continues to protect her family at all costs, even when they are on the wrong side of the truth, the law, or both.
She voyages out to the ivy leagues, to Washington, and to a career in the music business, only to be dragged back into the family’s dilemmas. We follow her dual loyalties from the fire-hydrant showers of the Bronx to the seafood bistros of Southport, from Dartmouth to inner-city Philadelphia, from the balconies of Rome to the fluorescent-lit supermarkets of Florida, from the apex of New York City back home—to a row of tombs and the yoke of dangerous people who love her very much.
With every tragedy, Serena must make a decision.
Author Interview - Zack Slingsby
Author I draw inspiration from:
John Steinbeck, East of Eden; Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter; Ian McEwan, Atonement
Author Interview - Zack Slingsby | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
A loud coffee shop.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I think it’d be great to be stuck in an elevator with the Continental Op from Dashiell Hammett’s stories and novels. The Op is a ruthless observer and classifier of all people and tells the absolute brutal truth about what he sees—and I would like to finally find out the brutal truth about myself.
Author Interview - Zack Slingsby | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I have written stories since I was old enough to remember. I didn’t know anyone could really become an author until I actually met some authors when I got to college and they encouraged me to write prose. So I guess the answer is, “since I knew it was an option.” Before that, I was resolved to keep on doing it in private and probably would’ve.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I have written stories since I was old enough to remember. I didn’t know anyone could really become an author until I actually met some authors when I got to college and they encouraged me to write prose. So I guess the answer is, “since I knew it was an option.” Before that, I was resolved to keep on doing it in private and probably would’ve.
The last book I read:
I traded off reading Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and a Michael Creighton pulp-y fiction novel. I understood that characteristically Hemingway's book was more profound and poignant and layered, but after thinking about it a while, I am not sure if that is the case or if Creighton was equally profound and didn't care about us knowing that.
Author Interview - Zack Slingsby | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Computer. I write in short bursts while the story still seems worth pursuing and recording, usually finishing a first draft quickly, and fearing the second draft can be a long ways off. As Larry McMurtry said, I wrote my best novel in three weeks spread out over 27 years.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I would go with Jeeves from the P.G. Wodehouse books, as he can complement anyone’s deficiencies. He’s kind of like an old-school ChatGPT, except he will also hand you a cold drink. ChatGPT is working on this feature now
Author Interview - Zack Slingsby | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
In my day job, I am a comedy writer, short filmmaker and branded content creator. In the 1930s, Fitzgerald supplemented his income by writing short stories from the French Riviera. Today writers find secondary (or primary) careers on the internet. He had the beach and the ex-pats, but we’ve got TikTok and food trucks, so it all comes out in the wash.
Find more from the author:
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About Zack Slingsby:
Zack Slingsby
Zack Slingsby is the founder of King Jester, an original digital comedy platform that creates premium scripted sketches and web series with some of the funniest people online. Developed by the award-winning team behind Human Factor Media—a short form and branded storytelling company also founded by Slingsby—King Jester was created to help bring fearless scripted comedy back into culture.
Driven by a passion for telling stories at the convergence of traditional and digital media, Zack launched King Jester to revive scripted comedy and enable creators to make bold cinematic, web-length series and sketches without the economic and procedural constraints of conventional studio systems.
With over a decade of experience as a creative producer, director and writer, Zack is recognized for crafting short films, series and commercial work distributed by household brands, publishers and networks garnering millions of views. He is the author of a forthcoming literary novel, received his MFA from The New School and has won awards as both a writer and filmmaker from national and international festivals and committees.
He currently resides in Nashville, TN, where King Jester’s full-scale production studio is headquartered.
