“The novel draws its strength from attention to character over plot. Locander resists easy answers or contrived resolutions, allowing his characters, and readers, to wrestle honestly with guilt, loyalty, and love. As the first installment in a planned series, this will appeal to those who favor slow-burn drama over thriller pacing–and leave them eager to see what comes next.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Author · Screenwriter
Paul Locander
Stories of fracture, consequence, reconciliation, and the long road back.
Featured Work
Power & Way
A father. A son. A derailment. A collision course years in the making.
Set against the hard edges of Appalachia and the aftermath of a fatal train disaster, Power & Way is a character-driven dramatic thriller about loyalty, silence, inheritance, and the cost of coming home too late.
Power & Way is a story of healing deep familial rifts, damaged families, the abyss of temptation and the impact of moral choices, and the quiet painful truths that surface when everything breaks open.
Reviews & Conversations
Reviews & Conversations
The Something Something Podcast about Paul Locander
A fun podcast with filmmakers Larry Sands and Erick Kaslov about the state of the industry, background on the novel, and a selected reading from Chapter 1!
The Minddog TV Podcast with Paul Locander
Matt Nappo visits with Paul Locander to discuss his debut novel "Power & Way", the rifts between parents and their adult children that remain unhealed, and roads to reconciliation.
InHollywood Magazine
An in-depth interview with Paul Locander about the emotional chasms that fuel Power & Way, the writing of the novel itself, and the journey from script to novel.
More coverage
Backstory Sessions
A chat with Cathy Rhoden about Power & Way, the creative process, and the inspiration behind the novel. Paul shares the personal experiences, faith, and creative journey that shaped his storytelling.
PowerAce Radio
Paul joins P.A.R. Real Talk on Power Ace Radio to discuss creativity, storytelling, aviation, screenwriting, Hollywood, and the path from screenplay to novel.
The Mind of Sai Marie Podcast
Sai interviews Paul Locander about Power & Way, the personal experiences that inspired it, pacing, emotional development, secrets, lineage, and character dynamics.
The Awesome Gang
Paul responds to an online Q&A with The Awesome Gang about Power & Way and the road to healing through writing.
Upcoming Work
Rewind: Origin
Memory is evidence. Memory is motive. Memory is hell.
A disgraced district attorney uses an experimental machine to retrieve the memories of the dead...and his murdered daughter...only to discover that the most dangerous truth may be buried inside himself.
Recognized as an Academy Foundation Nicholls Fellowship finalist, Rewind is a psychological techno-thriller series that explores guilt, identity, power, the cost of looking too deeply into what should remain hidden, and the fallicy of technology.
Substack Essay
The Farewell to My Sister
Alcoholism brought an end to my sister's life, and created a crater that remains an open wound that will never heal
The Author
Character-driven stories shaped by pressure.
Paul Locander is a multi-genre novelist and screenwriter whose work explores emotional inheritance, family fracture, consequence, and redemption. His storytelling bridges literary drama and cinematic momentum, focusing on people forced to confront what they have buried, avoided, or struggle to overcome. He is drawn to strong character arcs and stories that explore imagination and the unexplored.
His work has been recognized multiple times by The Academy Foundation's Nicholls Fellowships, Script Magazine, Cinequest, Filmatic, and The Austin Film Festival.
Upcoming
What’s next.
Memorial
A Nicholls Fellowship finalist science-fiction story of the USS New Jersey, a space-based battleship in the midst of a civil war between America and her first Martian colony, and what happens when her captain and crew trespass upon an alien memorial.
The House on Hollow Road
The gritty anticipated sequel to Power & Way. Andy Mayland disappears deep into the L.A. grunge scene and finds her way to the deep south to bring her stolen son home.
A Lyrical Sense of Being
A young orphaned boy and his distant cousin set out on an emotional journey to find his missing parents, believing the lyrics of a classic rock song are clues to finding them.
Signed Copies
Personally signed copies are available!
Signed copies of Power & Way are available directly while inventory is available. Price includes postage at USPS Media Mail rate. For international author-signed copies please indicate the country in the inscription section.
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Contact
Literary and media inquiries.
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