Rancho Santa Fe author’s novel, ‘Forever Lasts till Dawn,’ draws from real life
By Samantha Tatro
It all started when Rancho Santa Fe author Monty Silverstone went to get his palm read at a party. The air at the party was full of smoke, so he went outside and saw a palm reader next door.
“I thought that, for a laugh, I’d go in there and spend 10 dollars,” Silverstone said of the night. “So I go in there and she tells me some stuff that happens to be true, like that I was going to sign a paper to buy a new property. She told me some good stuff. Then she said, ‘You’re going to write a novel that is going to be very successful and get a five-star review.’”
That palm reading happened 20 years ago, and a good portion of what she predicted ended up coming true, Silverstone said, including the novel the clairvoyant said he would write.
Silverstone’s first novel, “Forever Lasts till Dawn,” released this summer and available on Amazon, centers on two Ukrainian girls who dance in the streets to earn money. The girls later move to London and encounter tragedy, adversity and triumph in their quest for happiness.
He may be new to writing novels, but Silverstone, a former actor, boxer and entrepreneur in several fields, is no stranger to writing books. He previously published “The ABCs of Racing: How Not to Lose Money in Racing,” after he developed a method to pick winners at the racetrack. He also wrote a biography and a book for actors of all ages.
Silverstone wrote his first novel entirely by hand and sent it to a secretary to type up.
“I can write faster (on paper) than I can with a computer,” he explained with a chuckle. “When my brain starts working with my hand, my hand moves ever so fast. You might not be able to read my writing, but I write very fast.”
Though the novel is fiction, Silverstone said he was inspired by events from his past. His mother came from a poor family and used to dance in the streets of London for money. Silverstone took the idea and molded parts of it when he was writing.
Originally, the typed manuscript rang up at 440 pages total before being reduced to 380 pages, the final length of the book. From start to finish, it took Silverstone about two years to write and edit.
“A typical day of writing is when the phone stops ringing … I come into my office, lock the door, and I sit there for an hour and get inspiration. Pens starts moving over the paper, and I do four of five pages, get up, go out, come back in again, walk around, sit down, think of something else and make a whole story about that,” Silverstone said. “Every few chapters, I go back and forward to make it a little bit better, more poignant. And in the afternoon I go back to my business again and I go back and teach.”
In his free time, Silverstone also teaches acting classes at the San Dieguito Adult School in Solana Beach and the Rancho Santa Fe Senior Center.
At the moment, he isn’t sure what he plans to do next.
“I’m going to see,” he said when asked about a sequel. “I’m going to give myself a break until after Christmas. If I do anything, it won’t be until next year.”
Married to Didi, the Silverstones have three adult children: David, Kezi and Alicia.
“Forever Lasts Till Dawn” is available on Amazon.com and at www.barnesandnoble.com. For more information, visit www.MontySilverstone.com.