When we spoke to author, tech company CEO, Sedona resident and Beatles collector extraordinaire Chris Formant, he was in the middle of hiking his way through Argentina and Chile. That’s just how he rolls. Chris’ second novel, Saving Washington (Permuted Press; $27), is due out Feb. 19, and famed HBO producer Gregg Fienberg (True Blood, Deadwood) has already optioned it. The historic fiction centers around the forgotten story of the citizen soldiers known as the Maryland 400 and the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776. Chris painstakingly researched the book, even enlisting the help of the U.S. Army War College. It took him 18 months to write the novel and another year to edit it. The majority of the writing happened in Sedona, where Chris has owned a home since 2016. (He’s been visiting Sedona for 20 years.)
“Sedona, for me, is a restful place,” says Chris, who namechecks James Patterson as his publishing idol. “It’s spiritual and cathartic. I feel very creative and energized when I’m there.” For more info, visit chrisformant.com.
