Detroit, U.S.A. — Scott J. Holliday has written a novel about redemption. His book, “Normal“, follows the lives of prison guard Paul Constantine and sideshow performer Roy Pellerin, Paul’s childhood friend and a man with a disease that gives him the appearance of alligator skin. Paul must track Roy across the country on a mission of justice and forgiveness.

Holliday recalls the event that influenced his writing: One night he got out of his car and followed his fiancee toward the house. She went inside, closed the door behind her, and locked it. He sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was in a hospital. He didn’t know how he got there, but he quickly knew why.

“The wound on my forearm,” Holliday says, “was wide open.”

The couple had argued on the ride home.

“It was a damaged relationship near its end,” he says. “I reacted poorly to being locked out of my own house.”

The rest of the story was recounted to him. He had popped out a small window and reached in to unlock the door. He walked in not knowing a glass shard had sliced open his arm. He fell, lost consciousness, and began bleeding out.

“Doctor said it was a miracle,” Holliday says. “A half inch either way and I would have severed a major vein. I probably would’ve died.”

His perspective was changed.

“It brought important things into focus. It showed me life is fleeting, and that I wasn’t living it right. My relationship was destructive, my job was a dead-end, and I wasn’t following my dreams.”

Fast forward several years and much has changed. Scott’s happily married and he has published “Normal“, his debut novel, and a work of fiction that parallels his escape from an unfulfilling life.

“It’s about scars,” Holliday says, “both physical and emotional. What we learn from them, what they mean.”

Reviewer Krystal Rinyu says, “(Normal is) a testament to the human spirit. How we are able to bounce back time and again in the face of suffering.”

Reviewer Frishawn Rasheed says, “This is a book that all should read. A story that encourages one to truly seize the day, love who you love, and not be afraid to be who you are.”

“Normal” is available on Amazon.com.

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Canada gained a considerable talent when the Rennies brought their four-year-old from England in the mid-1960s. Callum Keith Rennie did not become an actor until he was twenty-five, but he has made up for it, earning over a dozen nominations and awards and appearing in over a hundred productions. He has been in five TV series this last year, and will feature in ‘The Firm’ in this coming year.

Much of Mr. Rennie’s work associates him with gritty, often antagonistic characters, though he has received critical acclaim for comedy and children’s shows. It seems his forte is the character with rough edges. Some years battling alcoholism likely helped hone those portrayals, but delayed his career.

Fortunately, he returned to acting and began collecting awards. Following a year of TV roles, he was nominated for the Genie Award (Canada’s ‘Oscar’) for best supporting actor in ‘Double Happiness’ (1993). This was one of nine productions for him that year. He has won the Genie twice since then, for ‘Last Night’ (1998) and ‘Normal’ (2007).

‘Last Night’ also earned him a nomination for the Canadian Comedy Award (for his portrayal of a sex-athlete). The same year, he received a nomination for a Gemini Award (Canada’s ‘Emmy’) for ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role’ –as did his co-star, Paul Gross, both for ‘Due South’ (1997-99).

These two actors have collaborated on several other projects, including 2004’s political thriller ‘H2O’ and comedy-drama ‘Wilby Wonderful,’ and comedy-western ‘Gunless’ (2010). Mr. Rennie has appeared in a number of Hollywood films as well, including ‘Memento’ (2000); ‘The Butterfly Effect’ (2004); and ‘Blade: Trinity’ (2004).

In Canada, he is remembered for such films as David Cronenberg’s ‘eXistenZ’ (1999); ‘Hard Core Logo’ (1996); ‘Trigger’ (2010); and ‘Suspicious River’ (2000). It is in ‘Hard Core Logo’ that he exhibits his singing skills as a rock-band guitarist; he reprised the role for ‘Trigger,’ which starred Molly Parker, who also co-starred in ‘Suspicious River.’

Callum Keith Rennie is perhaps best known for his extensive TV work. He has been seen on ‘The X-Files’ (1993-2002); the reinterpretation of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2003-09); the horror-series ‘Supernatural’ (2005-); ‘The L-Word’ and ‘Smallville’ (both 2006); ‘Californication’ (2007-); and ‘24’ (2001-10), for example.

In 2011, he appeared in the US version of ‘The Killing’ and headlined ‘Shattered’ (2010-11), in which he played a detective with multiple personalities; again, he appeared with Molly Parker. In 2012, they will reunite in the high-profile ‘The Firm,’ based on the John Grisham novel and film. The often dark character actor has a bright future indeed.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfccreates/

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