With Brian Townsley and Under a Black Flag
About this episode
Brian Townsley discusses his novel 'Under a Black Flag' and the writing process behind it.
"Sonny Haynes finds himself traveling between a western movie set in Twentynine Palms, CA, where an actress has been assaulted, and his own Starlite Hotel & Resort, where two visitors are found dead in their room. What follows is a race against time, the culmination of which leads to the heart of darkness itself in the Southern California desert." Brian Townsley joins the show to talk about his long-awaited novel Under a Black Flag — the third installment in the Sonny Haynes series. Brian pulls back the curtain on a book nearly a decade in the making, sharing how the first 70-plus pages sat untouched for years before he finally returned to bring the story home. The conversation also dives into the craft: how series characters grow (and stumble) across books, why flaws matter more than perfection, and Brian's scene-by-scene approach to building a story. Plus, Brian shares updates on Starlight Pulp, the My Confession collection, upcoming community events including a reading at Artifact Books in Encinitas and Noir in the Boneyard at the 29 Palms Book Fest, and his Editor's Perspective video series for writers. Order Under a Black Flag…
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