Arts & Entertainment
Actor Eriq La Salle Hosts Book Signing in WeHo
The actor, director and producer who starred in the hit TV show "ER" debuts as a novelist.
Actor/director Eriq La Salle appeared at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Tuesday to sign copies of his debut novel and discuss his foray into fiction writing.
His first novel, titled Laws of Depravity, is a thriller about a serial killer obsessed with the torturous deaths of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles. The infamous murderer, dubbed the "Martyr Maker," commits 12 heinous killings every 10 years with priests and preaches as his victims.
Prior to signing books, La Salle read the novel's first chapter then answered questions about the book and his approach to fiction writing.
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"Novels allow me to express why a person does what they do," said La Salle, adding that after experimenting with an array of writing formats throughout his life including poetry and screenwriting, novels are where he feels most comfortable and creative.
"I can flashback, I can change styles ... I love that freedom," he said.
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La Salle drew literary inspiration from the remarkable tales of the apostles' gruesome martyrdom that he discovered in an article.
"That's when I got the concept of coming up with a modern-day serial killer who was killing clergy in the same fashion that the apostles were killed," he said.
La Salle has appeared in several notable films and television shows, including ER, Coming to America, L.A. Law, Jacob's Ladder, Quantum Leap, One Hour Photo and 24. He also produced The Salton Sea and directed several films including Crazy as Hell, in which he also starred.
Laws of Depravity is the first installment of a trilogy, La Salle said.
The book is available for purchase in Kindle and paperback format on Amazon.com.
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