The back bar at Dunston’s Steakhouse has set the stage for some memorable moments over the past seven decades.
But it likely didn’t make its way into a work of fiction until Park Cities writer, artist, musician, and former GameStop executive M.F. Hamlin released his debut novel, Skinny Dipping at Low Tide, this January.
I met Hamlin at the dimly lit hangout to discuss what he calls “A Rollicking Dive into Corporate Absurdity and Meme-Stock Madness.” Having served as GameStop’s Chief Customer Officer, Hamlin got a front-row glimpse as the gaming empire caught fire amid a legendary short squeeze in the spring of 2021.
“I love it here,” said Hamlin. “It’s been around forever, and they haven’t changed a bit. It’s one of those places you wouldn’t even know was there, but once you step inside, you don’t want to leave.”
Hamlin was born in Atlanta but moved to Dallas when his dad took a job at Electronic Data Systems. He went to Highland Park High School, where he worked on the yearbook and was a cartoonist for the school paper. Eventually, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a music degree.
“I moved to Nashville to become a songwriter,” said Hamlin. “After about eight months, I realized I was the least talented guy there. So, I went into the business side of the music industry.”
At the intersection of high art and upper management, Hamlin found his footing. However, he felt more like a comic outsider than a corporate overachiever.
“I guess you could say I became the executive who could never grow up,” said Hamlin. “When I came into GameStop, they were rolling up AT&T stores and looking to diversify. I got crosswise with them on that and ended up getting fired.”
After CEO J. Paul Raines died of brain cancer, the board canned all of Hamlin’s critics and called him back into the fray.
The book details the ensuing drama in a fictionalized account that’s part Margin Call and part Catch-22.
Places like Mia’s Tex Mex and Dunston’s Steakhouse serve as settings. Hamlin’s prose is quick-witted, and his narrative is as compelling as it is comically absurd. With an opening limerick to set the stage, chapters titled after classic rock tracks, and an author-illustrated flipbook running across the corners, it has the quality of a manic magnum opus. But to Hamlin, it’s just a debut.
“Providence and the gods made it okay for me to leave the corporate world,” he said. “So, this is what I want to do now. I want to hang out at places like this. I want to write, make music, and work on my art. I know I’m lucky to be at this place in life, so I want to make the most of it.”
For his next book, Hamlin thinks he might detail his father’s story. Through his first publishing process, he’s established an agent, a healthy writing habit, and an audience that appreciates the absurd — all are awaiting his next act.
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