GRAY — Call it The Edgar, the Eddies or the Edgar Allan Poe Award. If you’re an author of mysteries, you want one. 

Gray author Al Lamanda knows what that’s like. His mystery novel, “Sunset,” has been nominated for the award. Now he has to wait until May to find out if this is his year.

“Sunset,” the story of an alcoholic ex-detective investigating the murder of his wife, was published in June 2012.

“The inspiration for this novel came from different places,” Lamanda said. “As a writer, I try my best to entertain the reader with realistic stories. I use a lot of my own experiences and people I’ve met to create characters and plot lines. Many of the characters in “Sunset” are composites of real people, places and in some instances, actual dialogue. The actual plot is something I just saw in my mind and fleshed out as I wrote it.”

In January, Lamanda learned he was up for an Edgar when a member of the nominating committee sent him an email.

While he waits for May, Lamanda is working on his next novel, a sequel titled “Sunrise.” 

The 61-year-old is from the Bronx, a former Marine turned screenwriter and author of the novels “Dunston Falls,” “Walking Homeless,” “Running Homeless” and “Sunset.”

His process? Simplicity itself.

“I don’t actually have what would be considered a process,” he said. “I don’t make tons of notes, just the occasional scribble on a Post-It note. Before I write a word, I think about the story I want to tell. I’ll work it out in my mind for several weeks and when it all comes together, I sit down and write it. I find this keeps the story fresh in my mind and surprises me as much as the reader.”

That being said, part of the intellectual process gets under way while he’s sweating and straining at the gym. He goes thrice a week for two hours at a time.

“I do some of my best thinking and outlining plot points in my head while working up a good sweat,” he said.

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (or Edgars) are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, television, film and theater published or produced in the previous year.

“Sunset” is available on Amazon.

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