Former Malibu resident Norman Ollestad has self-published his first book, a tale of mystery narrated by a Labrador retriever.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
After years of writing minor film scripts and doing rewrites for others, Norman Ollestad is finally satisfied with something he has produced. His first book was just released this month. Entitled “Driftwood,” it is an oddball mystery that takes place on the beach in Malibu.
Ollestad, a 39-year-old Venice resident who lived most of his childhood on the wild Topanga Beach of the pre-state control days, self-published his debut novel about an out-of-work lawyer named Woody who lives in a shack in Malibu with his Labrador retriever, Coltrane, who is the narrator of the story. Woody’s life takes an interesting turn when a hot tub is stolen. And then begins an adventure, which includes love affairs with two women. And Woody must choose between them, and solve the case of the stolen tub.
“I wanted to explore the relationship between illusion and distraction,” Ollestad said. “Most romantic relationships are based on illusion and distraction, they sort of play off each other, feed off each other.”
Ollestad said he chose the dog as narrator because canines are naturally loyal and not self-serving, and “observe things from a pure point of view.” He used a Malibu setting for his story because of his familiarity with the seaside town, having lived here for a portion of his adult life, and being nearby during his childhood days first in Topanga and later in Pacific Palisades.
“It’s a good place to explore the relationships,” Ollestad said. “I put them on the beach. And since it is what I know, I don’t even have to think about that stuff. It comes naturally.”
Ollestad began writing as a young child, telling stories about a detective who traveled on boats and solved international mysteries in Europe. But then he burned out on the craft. Ollestad did not return to writing until his freshman year at San Diego State when he was inspired by a poem he was reading in a class.
“I was involved in the poem, and I looked up; and the room was still, but there was this energy, this electricity,” Ollestad said. “And I thought, ‘I love that. This is what I want to do.'”
He then decided to pursue writing as a career, earning bachelor’s degrees in creative writing and film from San Diego State and UCLA.
Ollestad has written B-movie scripts, which he said were “less than fulfilling.” He has also done some rewrite work on various scripts. But much of Ollestad’s post college life was dedicated to travel and a life of adventure. For about eight years he traveled throughout Europe, earning money from window washing, snow shoveling, taking people on tours through the Austrian mountains and doing other odd jobs.
“I saw so many different things, lived different ways,” Ollestad said.
At age 30 he returned to the United States for what was supposed to be a brief stay, but then a script Ollestad wrote was purchased by a studio, although it was never turned into a movie.
“I decided OK, I’m 30 years old, I’ve got to come back,” Ollestad said. “You can fade off into that life [of odd jobs and traveling in Europe] very easily.”
Ollestad decided not to pursue a publisher for “Driftwood” because his friends who are professional writers told him it was not worth the effort for his first novel, since success in getting a publisher would be difficult. But the book has not gone unnoticed, receiving favorable reviews from the Washington Post’s Carolyn See and local media.
The book took Ollestad a year to write, but he said it was a pleasant experience, and is now enjoying promoting “Driftwood.” For his second novel, Ollestad will pursue a publisher. He has already begun writing it, a fictional account of a real-life tragedy that happened to him in 1979 when he was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed his father.
And Ollestad has not ruled out returning to screenwriting, saying, “Perhaps writing novels will make me a better and more fulfilled screenwriter.”