A Steamy Novel about the Toy Industry – No kidding

Hal Ross is a familiar figure to anyone in the Canadian and US Toy Industries. I have known Hal for over fifteen years, so it was with surprise and pleasure that I found out that Hal is a writer and that he has written a novel.  In fact, his novel, The Doll Brokers, is about the toy industry. 
I have had the pleasure of reading it and really enjoyed it. In fact, I got so into it that I forgot he wrote it. 

Here is a brief synopsis as supplied by Hal’s publisher:

How does one doll become a success in the high-risk, multi-billion-dollar toy industry?

From New York to Paris, from Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas to Hong Kong, The Doll Brokers traces this volatile industry.

Hart Toy is a family-owned business struggling to survive in the twenty-first century.

Haunted by an incident in her past that has left her scarred, Ann Lesage overcomes one obstacle after another as she fights to bring her doll to the top of the best seller charts, only to find outside influences so dominant it will take more than luck and nerves of steel to succeed.

After begrudging approval by toy buyers, Ann realizes that her doll must now pass the most vital test of all – to win the ultimate acceptance of the consumer.

This is a story about the toy industry, with all its foibles and blemishes exposed.  

A novel about the toy industry written by a citizen of Toy Nation is so unique that I thought an interview was called for. 

Here is an interview I conducted with Hal:

Richard:

What made you decide to write a book about the toy industry?

Hal:

I have dedicated much of my life to the toy industry so around ten years ago I knew that my next writing project (I have successfully published an earlier novel through Doubleday) was going to be a novel based on our industry. I’m not aware of any other novels about the business

Richard:

How did you come up with the plot?

Hal:

I started jotting down thoughts as they came to me. People are always teasing me about the way I keep notes. Gradually, the characters started to fill out, and the story.

Richard:

Where can someone purchase it?

Hal:

It can be ordered, starting next month, through most book stores, as well atIUniverse.com, Amazon.com, and other online book sellers

Richard:

Obviously, you called on your experience in the toy industry. Can you tell us a bit about your career?

Hal:

I was a disc jockey with Radio Station CJQC in Quebec City, the only English-language radio station in a mostly French-speaking town.

My short-lived stint in radio soon gave way to a career in the record business. Over the years I got to work with a diversified group of recording artists such as Johny Puleo of The Harmonica Gang, Al Alberts of the Four Aces, Brenda Lee, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Peter, Paul and Mary and Roy Orbison.

In early 1970 I left the music business and joined Irwin Toy in Toronto and was put in charge of sales for a new line of theirs called Cragston Toys. Some fifteen years later I was promoted to Vice-President, Sales.

Richard:

 But you didn’t stay with Irwin?

Hal:

No. I really wanted to get out on my own and in 1987; I borrowed money on my mortgage, resigned from Irwin Toy, and started an agency that still exists today – Good Fun Limited.

Richard:

 Didn’t you also go through a major expansion some years later?

Hal:

 In 2003 Irwin Toy closed its doors and I took on five or six of their employees. Bruno Bellissimo, whom I had known from my Irwin days, became my partner. Today we specialize in service devoted to the major accounts in Canada.

Richard:

So where in the world, in this kind of diversified career in toys, did you have the inclination or the time to write?

Hal:

A-ha! More than music, more than anything else in my life, writing was what I always wanted to do. It began in my mid-teens. In 1970 I lived through the crisis in Quebec perpetrated by the terrorist group calling themselves the FLQ. I started to wonder what would happen if that particular group was infiltrated by the Mafia. Thus, my first novel, The Fleur-de-Lys Affair was born. It was picked up in 1975 in North America by Doubleday and New English Library in Europe. Then came a long hiatus, until The Doll Brokers.

Richard:

You certainly are a multi-talented person. I enjoyed the book greatly and think others will as well. If someone wants to read it on the plane to Hong Kong, where can they buy it?

Hal:

It can be ordered starting next month through most book stores, as well at IUniverse.com, Amazon.com, and other online book sellers.