Lifelong Lynn resident David Rutter has released his debut novel, a crime thriller titled, “Internal Damnation,” a writing project that was five years in the making.
David Rutter.
Rutter, a graduate of Lynn Classical High School and Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in creative writing and English, said his new book was originally a screenplay.
“I met with an agent and he suggested that I turn it into a novel to gain a following and then use that as leverage down the road to secure a movie adaptation,” said the 27-year-old Rutter.
Though he had been a filmmaker for the previous decade, Rutter wanted a new challenge, so he began writing the book.
“I thought it would take me six months but it took me five years to finish,” said Rutter. “What I came to find out is that I love writing novels more than I worshiped filmmaking, which was my first passion.”
The book has definitive Lynn connections. In fact, the setting for the book is Ocean Park, which was once briefly considered as a possible new name for the city.
What inspired David Rutter to write the book?
“It was my intrigue with loyalty and how people define that loyalty, what they do to defend that loyalty,” Rutter explained.
“This is a story about overcoming tragedy and empowering people through said tragedy even though there are very dark themes and things that happen to these characters,” added Rutter. “But there is hope that I want to try to inspire through people.”
Rutter summarized his suspenseful novel and the direction of his main character, Alexander Marks, a convicted felon, thusly:
“Having lost the last decade of his life inside federal prison, Alexander Mark reluctantly returns home to Ocean Park. While Alex wants nothing to do with the consequences of his past, he finds himself horrified by the world his actions have birthed. Torn between what feels right and what feels natural, Alex’s ultimate battle between sanity and lunacy commences as two vastly different victims of his past force him back into a chaotic world of violence, drugs and betrayal.”
Lynn residents will enjoy the references in his book to such locations as the Lynn Public Library, Market Street, Red Rock Park, and Boston Street.
“I wanted to really emphasize where I came from,” he said.
Rutter has been involved in Lynn’s artistic community for most of his life. From 2006 to 2013, he ran a film company called D-Rock Productions. He was also a volunteer videographer/editor at LynnCAM TV from 2007 to 2012. He won the “Best Writer-Short Film” Award at the DownBeach Film Festival for his short film, Mea Culpa.
And Rutter is published author receiving praise for his first voyage in to the literary profession.
“I’m proud to say that I’ve received some really good reviews,” he said. “I’m an unknown author but the book is selling well. People really seem to enjoy the story and my dialogue seems to be getting rave reviews. The reviews make me incredibly happy because I had no idea what the response would be.”
The son of Kim Rutter, David noted that it was his ninth grade and tenth grade honors English teacher at Classical, Mr. McQueen, who helped set the foundation to his writing career.
“He would sit down with me after class and explain plot structure and he allowed me the creative freedom to explore new avenues in writing,” said Rutter.
It’s been an exciting 2018 so far for David Rutter. He was became engaged on New Year’s Day to Kassy Sousa, whom he credits for her inspiration and support on the acknowledgements’ page in the book.
The book ($11.99 for paperback, $4.99 as an e-book) is available on Amazon.com.