On Tuesday night, fans of the “Dexter” series rejoiced as creator Jeff Lindsay visited Appalachian to talk about adaptation, writing and dark humor with students and faculty.
Lindsay, who has been a novelist since 1994, started his famous series in 2004 after what he calls “twelve years of hard time… in Hollywood,” where he was an actor and screenwriter with his wife and writing partner, Hilary Hemingway.
His first Dexter novel, “Darkly Dreaming Dexter,” started his whirlwind of success and served as the basis for the hugely popular Showtime series in 2006.
Sophomore computer science major John Felipe asked about Lindsay’s involvement in the television adaption of his books and the closeness of the story lines.
“My involvement in the show, it varied from season to season,” Lindsay said. “Pretty much after the first season, if you averaged it out … It came out to zero. The first year, it was very, very close to my book. The second year, it wasn’t very close at all, until my lawyers pointed out to them that it kind of was- and they owed me some money.”
Lindsay talked extensively about the show adaptions and upcoming adaptation of the novels into his beloved medium, comic books. The comic book version will be distributed by Marvel comics, with two parts titled “Dexter” and “Dexter: Down Under,” Lindsay said.
“It was fantastic fun,” he said regarding the adaptation. “I thought, ‘I’m writing my own comic book! This is so cool.’”
Marvel is a longtime favorite of Lindsay’s. He himself was signed with Marvel, a decision he chalks up largely to nostalgia.
“From the time I saw the first Spider-Man, I was hooked,” Lindsay said of his childhood hero. “Spider-Man came along, and he has these amazing powers, and he had pimples and couldn’t get a girlfriend! … Then I was a Marvel guy all my life. ”
Lindsay discussed personal details of his life, citing many close brushes with screenwriting stardom that ended when he moved from California to Florida in his early career.
At that time, a literary agent found a screenplay co-written with his wife, and his career as a novelist truly began.
The laughter continued throughout his lecture, but there were also moments of great emotion.Lindsay reminisced about enormous crowds gathering for book signings and hearing Michael C. Hall’s first line as Dexter.
Lindsay signed copies of his books for everyone in the long line that formed and closed the show by giving a round of applause to the audience.
Jordan Parkhurst, Intern A&E Reporter