Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
It’s always an eye-roll moment for me when I read someone’s answer to this question when it’s something to the effect of, “I’ve been writing since I was six years old — it’s my passion!” But unfortunately, most of the time it’s true. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and the arts and business were always trying to find a decent nexus, which is probably how we wound up with Silicon Valley. But for me, I just wanted to write and for people to read it.
The Outlandish and the Ego is my debut novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Outlandish and the Ego is the name of my book. There are so many things that went into the idea for it. But at the end of the day I was trying to write the best novel I could, and at that point in time I really loved the idea of creating two, extremely divergent narratives and having them collide at the end. It’s obviously intended to make people laugh as much as it is designed to mock certain socio-political structures. Trying to write something that was fun to work on and ultimately, funny for someone to read really drove the process.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write with my feet instead of my hands.
…Not really. I’m an insomniac and tend to write in the early morning hours — like 2 am through 4 am. I once read an interview with Eddie Vedder where he swore up and down that the brain reaches new levels of creativity when sleep deprived, and I think there might be something to that.
Another habit that might not be that ordinary is that I hand write first drafts of things. I wrote the entire first draft of The Outlandish and the Ego in about 12 to 14 pocket-sized Moleskin journals. Those journals are among my favorite possessions now.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I always make a point of starting the answer to this question with Jack Kerouac because without On the Road I’m not sure I would have ever been interested in books — period. I was an angsty teenager who thought the only art that could bend and blend styles and provoke social change was music. Just dumb. But there was something about that book that first made me pick it up, and upon reading it, changed my world. Kerouac’s prose just expanded how I thought about literature, what you can do with it, and most importantly, how your independent sensibilities can infiltrate the story.
After Kerouac it’s really all about Hunter S. Thompson. I always wanted to be a journalist, and despite being just a really wickedly talented writer, Hunter was a true journalist at heart. He was trying to deliver the truth in his own way, and often times his way was more honest than traditional journalism. His wit, his tone, his cadence, his sense of humor and his sense for the dramatics — all of it was such a glorious package. I’m just glad I found his books. They profoundly changed me as well.
Outside of those two, writers like Jerzy Kosinski, Tom Wolfe, Ken Kesey, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, and of course, Hemingway, are among my favorites.
What are you working on now?
I’ve got something that has been gnawing on my imagination’s periphery for a decade. If The Outlandish and the Ego was a cartoonish satire that explored modern politics, then this next thing is more of a dark, psycho-analytical thriller that is taking a trip into madness and dreams. It’s in the early stages, but it has extreme potential.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Aside from Awesome Gang?
In my experience, it was a game changer once book reviews started coming in. The first few months of sales were pretty slow, but I received 4-5 positive reviews in a short span and sales really picked up. That leads to a snowball effect, because then Amazon reviews started coming in hard too, which in turn leads to more sales.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s probably a good idea to have a plan for after publication, way before publication. I think you should think about it in stages — who needs to read your book before it’s made public, where do you want the reviews to come from, what kinds of marketing materials will you need, and above all else, what’s your goal? For me, I just want people to read what I write, so I price down the e-book version of my book to make that happen.
What are you reading now?
I have a stack of comics that I’ve neglected for months that I have to get through. That should take a week or two. After that I look forward to reading The Courage of Hopelessness by Slavoj Zizek.
What’s next for you as a writer?
It’s my second novel. It’s a story that I keep coming back to in my mind as one I have to write. It’s going to be much different from my first book — much more serious and real, but make no mistake, I will find my spots for humor.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Catch-22
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Ragtime
On the Road
The Stranger
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