Kid Scanlan

Kid Scanlan just knocked out One-Punch Ross in the fight of his life. Tomorrow, he'll be a champion. Instead, he signs a contract and heads to Hollywood. This is the story of what happens when a prizefighter trades the ring for the cameras, not because he can act, but because someone thinks his face will sell tickets. With his savvy manager Johnny Green at his side, Scanlan stumbles through silent-era Hollywood like a bull in a china shop: demanding producers, unhinged directors, contract negotiations gone haywire, and the perpetual comedy of a man who's never learned to perform trying to act on camera. H. C. Witwer writes with the punchy, vernacular energy of a sports reporter who's seen too much backstage. The novel is less about plot than about the glorious collision between Scanlan's blunt fighter's intelligence and the ridiculous theater of early cinema. It's a period piece, yes, but it's really about something timeless: what happens when raw authenticity meets manufactured fame, and who ends up paying the bill.