Rotter, Gabe 1978-

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Rotter, Gabe 1978-

PERSONAL:

Born April 16, 1978; married. Education: University of Southern California, B.A., 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Novelist and screen writer. Ten Thirteen Productions, director of development. Former writer's assistant and personal assistant for Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files (television series).

WRITINGS:

Duck Duck Wally (novel), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gabe Rotter is a novelist and screenwriter whose experience includes working as a writer's assistant on the popular paranormal television show The X-Files, and as the director of development for Ten Thirteen Productions. Rotter grew up on Long Island, New York, and earned a film degree from the University of Southern California. He continued to write scripts in the action, mystery, and thriller genres while working as a personal assistant to X-Files creator Chris Carter, noted Aileen Jacobson in a Newsday profile.

When the television series eventually ended, Rotter had more time for writing and produced his first novel, Duck Duck Wally. "A preposterous setup eventually pays entertaining dividends in this slapstick send-up of show business in general and hip-hop in particular," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic. The novel's protagonist is Wally Moscowitz, a self-described frumpy, chubby Jewish man in his thirties. Wally lives alone with his dog, Dr. Barry Schwartzman. An aspiring writer, he strives with little success to interest publishers in his series of risqué children's books for adults. Though his outward appearance and existence are ordinary, Wally actually lives a secret life as the ghostwriter of misogynistic, profanity-laced song lyrics for Godz-Illa Records' hip-hop superstar Oral B. The chief executive officer of Godz-Illa, the menacing Abraham "Dandy" Lyons, has made it clear to Wally that his role in Oral B's success is to remain a closely guarded secret; if anyone ever finds out, the company's reputation and street cred would be ruined, and Wally could end up a bullet-ridden casualty in an alley somewhere. For his part, Wally is perfectly happy with the arrangement and has no intention of revealing his role in Oral B and Godz-Illa's multimillion-dollar success.

After an unnerving encounter with a minor member of Oral B's posse, however, Wally realizes that his secret is in danger of imminent revelation. The thug who corners him in a public restroom tells Wally that he knows that Oral B's stunningly original and highly popular rap rhymes are actually the ghostwriter's work. When Dr. Schwartzman is kidnapped and held for ransom, Wally knows that his life has changed dramatically and that things are only going to get worse. Soon, he is on the run from thugs with names like Yo Yo Pa and Teddy Bizzle; fielding an unexpected offer to publish his writing if he will convert his dirty adult books to children's fare; dealing with girlfriend Sue Schadenfreude; dodging the schemes of his agent Jerry Silver; and trying to recover Dr. Schwartzman while keeping himself uninjured and out of danger. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that "Rotter's a talented writer," while the Kirkus Reviews critic called the book a novel for readers who possess "no aversion to the broadest satire or affinity for political correctness."

Rotter told CA: "I'm always jotting notes about life's little absurdities. Human beings are truly a strange species and I'm endlessly amused by the things we do and say. Aside from observational humor, I am influenced by the work of [the directors] Woody Allen and the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, [as well as the authors] Bret Easton Ellis, Christopher Moore, Chuck Palahniuk, Steve Martin, Carl Hiasson, and of course, Kurt Vonnegut, to name a few.

"I was taught early on that the hardest part of writing is writing. By that I mean actually sitting down in front of the computer and putting hand to keyboard. That's where most people screw up. I have a day job, so after work, I force myself to sit there in front of the computer every night, whether the words are flowing or not.

"The most surprising thing I have learned as a writer is that the white bird poop on your car is actually not poop at all—it's urine. Fact.

"I hope my books will make people laugh. With me, not at me."