Bruce Ferber was a student at Herricks High School in the late 1960s with a deep interest in films and literature.
Little did he know then that he would later become a successful novelist, comedy screenwriter and executive producer nominated for several Emmys and Golden Globes.
With all of his accomplishments, Ferber said, he believes he has achieved the American Dream, yet he chose to center his latest novel, “Cascade Falls,” on a man that never quite gets there.
The novel follows Danny Johnson, a failed writer who gives up his dream and relocates his family to Cascade Falls, Ariz., to provide a stable life for them. But when problems continue to arise after the move, the family must decide whether their sacrifices were worth the outcome.
“One of the reasons I wrote the novel is because it is harder for people coming up today,” said Ferber, who now resides in Southern California. “We’re being fed the same dream that we should strive for, but what people have to go through now is a lot harder than when I was growing up.”
Before becoming a novelist and publishing his first novel “Elevating Overman” in 2012, Ferber was a comedy screenwriter, executive producer, and showrunner for many popular shows, including “Home Improvement” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.”
His transition from working on television to writing novels was prompted by the death of his first wife after she succumbed to her battle with breast cancer.
“He has had changes and shifts in his life that made him want to write from a bigger perspective,” said Elisa Donovan, who worked with Ferber as an actress on “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.” “In addition to the comedy, there is also great heart to what he writes.”
Ferber said his days as a student at Herricks High School were when his interest in literature and films ultimately developed.
“One of the reasons I chose the entertainment industry was because of a teacher named James Garvey who showed foreign films in class, like Fellini’s ‘La Strada’ and Charlie Chaplin films,” Ferber said. “It gave me a sense of film history and how it related to literature.”
On Friday, June 10 at 7 p.m., Ferber will return to Long Island to speak and participate in a book signing at the Book Revue in Huntington.
He said he is excited for the event because he has wanted to do a signing at what he calls “the great independent bookstore of Long Island” for some time, and this gives him an opportunity to reconnect with people from his childhood and adolescent years.
“I ultimately really enjoy just getting out there with something that’s completely mine,” Ferber said. “It’s fun being on a number 1 show and being so successful, but this is special because it’s more intimate and personal.”
