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Date of interview: 14 July 2020
David Tunno graduated cum laude from the University of Portland (OR) with a B.A. in theater and an M.A. in communications. His career path passed through high school teaching, TV news cinematography/writing for Oregon State University, radio news writing & broadcasting and corporate communications and video production for a large utility company before he left Oregon for southern California and found a new career in trial consulting with a national firm.
Four years later, he left the firm to form Tunno & Associates Trial Consulting, a practice he recently retired from, but not before penning a non-fiction critique of the American jury system entitled, Fixing the Engine of Justice: Diagnosis and Repair of Our Jury System. The book and his trial consulting career are detailed on his website, www.tunno.com. During the course of his career, he consulted his attorney clients in many high-profile cases throughout the U.S. and was a television and newspaper commentator for trials, including; the O.J. Simpson, Rodney King, Unibomber and Michael Jackson cases. He was a guest lecturer at the Anderson School of Business (UCLA), many bar associations throughout the U.S. and the American Bar Association’s annual litigation conference, which also published a condensed version of his training manual of expert witnesses, previously published by Lawyers & Judges Publishing.
Going back as far as high school, continuing through college and many years thereafter, David was an actor with stage, TV and film experience and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
In 2006, he wrote a screenplay, Constitution, about a fictional adventure involving that ship (“Old Ironsides”) in modern times. He has since adapted that screenplay into the novel, Intrepid Spirit, and is currently engaged in seeking both agency representation and publication by an independent publisher.
Author Email
MWSA: How did you find out about MWSA?
David Tunno: In conducting research connected with my manuscript for Intrepid Spirit, I purposely sought out associations of agents, publishers and writing contests. I was delighted to find MWSA. The “mission” of MWSA couldn’t target my goals for my novel any more closely and I’m hoping my connection with other writers in this genre will be rewarding. On that score, I also hope to offer tips from my own experience that might be helpful to others.
MWSA: What is Intrepid Spirit about?
David Tunno: In a sentence, it pits the crew of USS Constitution, in a modern-day epic battle against a terrorist group bent on igniting a world-wide jihad.
The story takes place against the backdrop of pending mid-east peace talks. The hero is a navy lieutenant who get into hot water and is unjustly punished for an action seen as jeopardizing those talks. He’s “banished” to command of Constitution, currently in Italy on a goodwill PR tour of the Mediterranean – purgatory, if you will, for a man of action.
That action leads to his redemption when, by chance and circumstances, he, the ship, and its crew are the only fighting force in a position to rescue the US Vice President from a terrorist group bent on lighting the fuse on a world-wide jihad launched by the assignation of the VP.
One of the twists in the story is the fact of Constitution in a battle with the progeny of her historic foes, the Barbary Coast pirates. The hook is that she’s still a commissioned US warship, the oldest in the world. So, we have a battle between the crew of Constitution, with nothing but their antique weaponry, against a well-armed force, requiring a great deal of ingenuity on the part of hero and bravery on the part of the crew.
MWSA: How did you come up with that idea?
David Tunno: It started out as a screenplay idea not long after 9/11. I knew the history of the ship from when I was a kid and read everything I could find about it. Built the model, like a lot of other boys. I knew she was built to fight the Barbary Coast pirates and it occurred to me that, here we are 200-years later at war in the same region with the same enemy. I also knew her status as a commissioned warship and that the navy had just put the ship through an extensive refit and thought those ingredients, together, made for a story. I wrote the screenplay, had an agent for it, and made considerable progress toward selling it, but all that fell through years ago. Not giving up on the story, I decided to turn it into a novel.
MWSA: What has been your experience with the manuscript so far?
David Tunno: I’ve been in the agent search phase for some time. The difficulty with this novel is that it is an upmarket piece, meaning it has been written with considerably more literary qualities than a typical action/adventure military novel. That means it doesn’t fit so neatly into the category that is filled by so many other books in the genre. At this writing, I’m waiting on responses from a good many agents and every once in a while I discover a new one that seems appropriate.
MWSA: What else have you done to market your manuscript?
David Tunno: I’ve also been researching independent publishers that don’t require agents. There are lot of good ones out there. I’ve created a list and have prioritized them for submission. I’m working my way through that list and waiting on them as well. Like the agents, every once in a while I find a new one. Along the way, I have solicited reviews to help in finding either an agent or a publisher and have entered contests. The manuscript has received great reviews and, at this writing, is a semifinalist in the Adventure Writers Competition. I'm hoping to advance to the next round.
MWSA: What is your connection with the military?
David Tunno: My father was a career marine. He enlisted before WWII and, with a private pilot’s license, entered the “flying sergeants” program, was sent to Pensacola and eventually became a Corsair fighter pilot in the south Pacific. He also served in the Korean War and retired after his 21 years. The biplane in the photo was his. I inherited it from him and it was he who taught me how to fly it, my having a private pilot’s license at the time. It’s a US Navy built N3N, the same type he flew at Pensacola. It’s now in the museum at the Great Park in Irvine, California at the former El Toro Marine Base, where my father’s Corsair squadron was commissioned.