The Real Memphis Mike (don't settle for imitations)

People have been asking questions about my books, and I think that's great! A common theme seems to be about how much and how often I write. The reality is that I write all the time. Always have. I usually have a notebook or some bit of paper nearby, just in case. This doesn't mean it always turns into something - but sometimes it does. The bigger question, I think, is that I've started to publish a lot. 3 books in 3 months seems prolific to some folks. The reality is simple. I have a backlog. In all honesty, this makes it difficult for me to move forward. It's just how I've always been. When The Rowdy Bovines split up and I formed The Tremblers, people were surprised at how many 'new' songs I'd already written. The songs weren't 'new' to me. I'd been writing them all along. I had to do something  with them. So - new band.  My books function along the same lines.  One thing I enjoy is working on the covers. I'm no great artist by any ...

I was moving files to my external drive the other day (as one does) and noticed that I've written an insane number of short stories. If you've read BODIES or LITTLE GUY , you get the idea. In fact, I have yet another collection coming next month (stay tuned for details).  What struck me was the sheer number of stories. So, as I'm prone to testing my theories, after wondering what an Unabridged Metzger Collection might look like, I moved a large number into Libre (my software of choice) and formatted them like a book. Mind you, this wasn't ALL of my shorts, prose, etc... just the bulk I had at hand. HOLY LOGOPHILIA BATMAN!!!!!!!!! If I were to publish this as a standard hardcover book, it would be over 1000 pages - not counting table of contents, foreword, glossary, etc. That's a lot of scribbles!  Just because, as most of yinz already know, I have a weird sense of humor - I'm almost tempted to publish a handful of copies and just leave them in those little free ...

Because people still ask. - MCM It all changed in an instant. He can now vividly recall the last moments before everything went black. He'll tell you it all began with new love. That's what changes a lot of things in life. As lives go, his was erratic and exhausting - even on the best of days. For years he had been living multiple lives, simultaneously. He had a respectable daytime career, and he was a well-respected musician in the nighttime. He occasionally taught and lectured as well. The music had started taking over more and more of his life. He was spending more time on the road, and time overseas. His was a life that most would envy - if they could keep up. He had met a gal in Tennessee and the emotions were explosive. The music took him there often enough that he always had an excuse to see her. His daytime career was such that he could always sneak away for a long weekend.  It was one such weekend when life changed irrevocably. A getaway to Nashville. The hotel room wa...

Any forest ranger will tell you to pay attention to the signs. DO NOT FEED THE BEARS is of particular importance, for more reasons than most might think. NO SWIMMING should be easily understood. FALLING ROCKS is another. If there’s a sign that more adventurous types ignore, it’s probably STAY ON TRAIL. It’s estimated that between 1,000 - 2,500 people ignore these signs every year and either become hopelessly lost and require search and rescue teams, or worse; they’re never seen again. A cool, sunny day in October finds a small group of carrion beetles feasting on the remains of presumably a misplaced adventurer. The beetles are sharing, as best they can, the feast with a group of blow flies. Neither group seems particularly interested in the origins of their meal. ‘Locally sourced’ is a phrase that has yet to catch on among the insect population. It’s difficult to say if they noticed the missing head. If so inclined, they might speculate if this happened prior to landing or after. It w...

 "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Allegedly, Einstein said that. Doesn't matter if he did or didn't, I like the quote. Before I self-published my first book, I looked into all sorts of different options. The literary agents I spoke with (who all sounded like they recently graduated from college - aka they sounded like children to these old ears) almost turned me off of writing forever. I spoke with folks from a few small publishing houses, and Geez Louise, if your first complaint is how little money you're making, maybe try a different career path. I would have thought that NO ONE was making any money - but I was soon to find out just who is. Barnes and Noble is one of the last remaining bookstore chains. Personally, I always preferred Borders, but they're long gone. Walden was another fave. Coles was pretty good. I can still spend a tidy sum at Half-Price Books (and MUSIC!) but I save that for special occasions. I am, admittedly, a library guy. As I o...

My latest collection LITTLE GUY is now available from Barnes & Noble. Another collection so soon? Prolific! I can understand how one might think that. The reality is much simpler. It just took me forever to compile the collections and publish them.  I've always been an indie kinda guy. We can probably blame my late friend & mentor Alan Leatherwood. Back in the 1980s, I'd never really given much thought to indie releases of any kind. Oh sure, I knew that bands put out cassettes and 7" singles from time to time, but I'd never considered it something in my skill set. I'd written for a handful of underground magazines, but even those relied on some level of ad revenue. Again, stuff I had little useful knowledge of.  In 2023, I started writing a history of American music. After a few months, I scrapped it (for mostly personal reasons) - but the writing continued. I've almost always been writing. Songs, poetry, prose, lists, lists, lists, reviews, hell, I ha...