Nicholas Litchfield is the author of the suspense novels When The Actor Inspired Chaos and Bloodshed and Swampjack Virus and editor of twelve literary anthologies.
WHEN THE ACTOR INSPIRED CHAOS AND BLOODSHED
ISBN-13: 978-1732332867
Trade Paperback | Lowestoft Chronicle Press | 04/01/2025|
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A greenhorn American actor struggles to survive a volatile director’s perilous methods for getting the best out of his cast.
Up-and-coming LA actor Dominic Graves has a disappointing portfolio of forgettable television work and low-budget exploitation films. So, when his insulting, crummy agent tells him that Ignacio Martinez, an influential South American filmmaker, wants him to play the lead in his action movie, it comes as a welcome shock. Sadly, accidents and quarrels besiege the production, and the director’s reckless fixation with realism and relentless quest for perfectionism impede filming and puts everyone’s safety at stake.
When Dominic’s striking, svelte young co-star, Sofia Prodva, becomes enamored with the American actor, the palpable sexual chemistry between the two stars creates a toxic environment. It turns out that Sofia is the director’s mistress, and the moment Ignacio senses the betrayal, relations between the director and his principal actor take a turn for the worse.
The nightmarish movie-making experience is nothing compared to the actor’s exploits away from the film set, where jealousy, rivalry, and revenge stalk him to the final shoot, leading to chaos and bloodshed.
REVIEWS
“Nicholas Litchfield’s novel pans across the seedy side of movie-making. As Dominic Graves, a struggling actor with a killer smile, gets pushed and pulled through scenes shot in the heart of Montevideo, he quickly learns his big break will leave marks that aren’t part of the script. Litchfield’s entertaining and gritty novel reads like a 1970s car-chase shot with a handheld camera, full of jolts and scrapes and Technicolor chaos.”
— ADAM BERLIN, author of Belmondo Style and All Around They’re Taking Down the Lights
“A cinematic page-turner about Hollywood gone by, movie-making, and a throwback to a golden era of hard-boiled stories of noir and shadows, questionable morals, devious sins, and the unforgettable characters that made that world their own.”
— CHRISTOPHER COSMOS, bestselling author of Once We Were Here and Young Conquerors
“Author Nicholas Litchfield holds nothing back in this edgy romp through actor Dominic Graves’ efforts to stay sane and alive while reaching for fame. Ceaseless action and witty dialogue whip the reader through Dominic’s crazy life at a cyclone pace as the weeks of shooting unreel and the director assures Dominic that he has that ineffable “star quality” (if he only survives). Wounds, copious blood loss, and bruises both real and faked by the makeup artist blur together in this unrelenting peek into filmmaking hell.”
— LINDA BOROFF, screenwriter of Murder in Fashion
“This tale of a down-on-his luck actor, so desperate for work that he accepts to play the male lead in a film directed by a well-known sadist, is fast-paced, violent and horrifying. It’s a made-for-Hollywood novel that testifies to the author’s familiarity with the conventions of movie-making and his ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats. I couldn’t put it down.“
— MARY DONALDSON-EVANS, author of Madame Bovary at the Movies
“A refreshingly different take on international thrillers. Litchfield makes the most of his South American setting in this cinematic page-turner that will keep you engrossed to the very end.”
— TIMOTHY J. LOCKHART, author of Smith and Pirates
“Take ambition, greed, and a dash of corruption and mix them thoroughly on a movie set. Place it in a hot climate until boiling, and you will have the recipe for Nicholas Litchfield’s entertaining novel.”
— SHELDON RUSSELL, author of the Hook Runyan Mystery Series
SWAMPJACK VIRUS
In a joint venture between the United States and Great Britain, the CIA and SIS have been covertly developing a highly sophisticated new cyber weapon. But then Peter Chapley, a key CIA operative working within SIS, mysteriously disappears in a London underground station while in possession of the prototype weapon. The Head of Weapons Intelligence at the CIA calls on Peter’s own brother, retired agent Roger Chapley, for help. Roger’s straightforward final assignment is to track down Peter in London and recover the weapon before it falls into enemy hands. The complicated part of the mission is determining whom to trust and what is fact from fiction, and whether or not his brother has turned traitor!
REVIEWS
“Bond fans take notice: With Swampjack Virus, Nicholas Litchfield has penned a fast-paced spy-guy thriller filled to the brim with suspense and old-school intrigue. Swampjack Virus will leave readers shaken, stirred…and thirsty for more.”
— Matthew P. Mayo, Spur Award-winning author of Tucker’s Reckoning
“A fast-paced, well-plotted and gripping 21st century espionage thriller…Litchfield paints a pitch perfect portrait of a delightfully offbeat US spy who bucks the trend by coming out of the heat and into the cold. Swampjack Virus, with its ironic undertones, charismatic cast and nail-biting suspense, takes us on a high-speed, rollercoaster journey from the opulent colonial lake houses in New York State to the slate-grey industrial towns and bleak back lanes of England. Don’t miss the all-action adventure…”
— Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post
“Swampjack Virus possesses all the qualities of a classic thriller. It is taut, intense and engaging from start to finish. Litchfield gives us a tale well worth our time.”
— Michael C. Keith, author of The Next Better Place
Review of Swampjack Virus featured in the Lancashire Post!
Check out the Press page for more features and reviews.
Further reviews of Swampjack Virus can be found in the following periodicals:
Blackpool Gazette; Bridlington Free Press; Burnley Express; Chorley Guardian; The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times; Fleetwood Weekly News; Garstang Courier; Lancashire Post; Lancaster Guardian; Leigh Observer; Leyland Guardian; Longridge & Ribble Valley News and Advertiser; Lytham St. Annes Express; Pendle Today; Pocklington Post; The St. Helens Reporter; The Visitor; Wigan Today.