{alltv} Carolyn Hennesy talks 'General Hospital' book hero

Carloyn Hennesy says Damian Spinelli, the protagonist of her new book "The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli (General Hospital)," is a quintessential computer genius, a wise cracking gumshoe and always the hero in her book.

Hennesy was approached by Hyperion, the publishing company for Disney, to write a story about all the "General Hospital" characters from the viewpoint of Damien Spinelli. She says she was keen on writing the book from the beginning, mainly because of being a published author of the "Pandora" series for young adults and for being a film noir fan.

"Spinelli, he's very much kind of on the surface, a dual personality on the surface. He's the quintessential computer genius, but the flip side, his alter ego is this Sam Spade, Humphrey Bogart, you know, Raymond Chandler, you know, wise crackin' gumshoe," she told Rachel Smith OnTheRedCarpet.com. "I'm a big film noir fan, so I was excited to take on this challenge."

Spinelli, who refers to himself as Jackal, tells stories to Diane Miller, Hennesy's character, about the residents of Port Charles. Every character of "General Hospital" is celebrated through Spinelli's unique take on the world.

"Each of these 16, 17 fantasy stories is like a love letter to the particular character that's involved or characters that are involved," Carolyn Hennesy told OnTheRedCarpet.com.

"We get to see 'General Hospitals' favorite characters go through these adventures: adventures of danger, adventures of love," said Bradford Anderson, who plays Spinelli. "So it brings out their best, their most and a side that you might not necessarily see on a daily basis while watching the show. It's all these characters taken to extreme measures and how they react and how they act."

Hennesy says that Spinelli is always the hero in the stories. Spinelli is a character with a vivid imagination and through the five years on the small screen, he has been through a lot of fantasies.

Hennesy says she didn't need to go through hours of "General Hospital" history in order to write the book. She was able to get the history she already knew and just put her own spin on it.

There were a couple of instances where she had to speak to the head writers of the show in order to get some history on the older characters.

"I did not know how Brenda Barrett came to Port Charles, but I do know," she said.

Hennesy and Anderson say that fans will enjoy all of the storylines since they are all different from one another.

"There's ones that are so heartwarming. One that we both have a deep love for is the Tracey and Luke storyline, which is, there's adventure but there's really wonderful heart to it," says Anderson. "There's some stories where you will see maybe some of the hunk men being able to deal with other sides of their personality."

Hennesy says the storylines came from her "fevered brain." She found inspiration from working with the different actors of the show and listening to what Spinelli had to say, which is usually something twisted and tangled. In the end, she says the details of the book came naturally to her.

Anderson says he was excited to hear that this project was underway. He believes that Hennesy was the best person to write the book and did a great job.

"When I heard that Carolyn was writing it, I was over the moon. And when she gave me a copy of it not too long ago, she really has, my character has kind of an interesting voice, and she has nailed it," Anderson said.

Hennesy says that there is a possibility for a sequel since there are so many characters on the show, but it all depends if fans want more.

"The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli as told to Diane Miller (General Hospital)" will be released on April 5, 2011. It will also be available as an ebook or an enhanced ebook, which is an ebook with special bonus features and video clips.

This is the first book of its kind for "General Hospital."

Hennesy and Anderson say they will be at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 10, 2011 for a book signing from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

THE SECRET LIFE OF DAMIAN SPINELLI

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401324134/almosthuman