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LITTLE GUY (Available NOW)


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 had my own feature column for a while. Looking at my 5TB external drive, probably a third of the files on it are things I've written.

I get it. Most just see me as a musician. That's fine. I've always done that too. I'm also a photographer, filmmaker, and culinary adventurist! 

In 2024, I decided to try my hand at writing fiction for no reason other than I had a story idea. Honestly, I've never read much fiction. I have my go-to authors, Stephen King, Doyle, Poe. I'm generally more likely to read biographies or history. And Bukowski. Yep, loves me some Bukowski. His work doesn't neatly fit sales categories - probably why I enjoy him. 

Anyhoo, I started work on my first novel. It took over my life in ways I never considered. I would dream about what I wrote. I couldn't escape the fictional world I'd created and knew I wouldn't until I finished the book. Three different times I thought it was finished. I was wrong. It kept coming back and insisting on more. Then came editing. Had I not controlled that particular beast, it would have turned into a three-thousand-page tome. Whew! One of the few times I've been thankful for editing skills.

That said, once unleashed - the writing bug likes to stay busy, so I started writing short stories left and right. They just kept coming! I don't try to come up with stories - they just pop up. I might be sitting and enjoying my first coffee of the day, staring out the window then BAM! Story idea! Is it the psychoactive properties of coffee or just my untidy back yard that prompts these ideas? 

I can turn almost anything into a story. My short POSTNASAL DRIP came about thanks to my wife giving me her cold. Our cats react differently to sneezes. BOOM! Story.

Before long, I noticed patterns in my stories. This one seemed to work well alongside that one, and so on. I lumped them together in different files. I wondered if people had any interest in short story collections...again, not my usual first choice in books. I figured What The Hell and set about compiling them. Book titles were pretty easy. A lifetime of creating guerilla promo posters for bands/gigs gave me ideas for cover art. From there it was just a matter of getting it all published. 

The publishing industry, in my opinion, is every bit as evil as the music or film industries. I've had my dealings with all of them and opted for the indie route. My old buddy Leatherwood, after years in Nashville writing for others, went that route with his records. He was truly indie long before the internet. He found a niche in the mail-order world! I thought it was fascinating. I learned a lot from his methodology. I like to think Al would enjoy my books. If nothing else, I know he'd have strong opinions about them! 

My first book BODIES has been well-received. I get a few messages per week from readers, telling me what they enjoyed about it. I'm the first to admit that my writing style isn't for everyone, nor should it be. I know lots of people who love Shakespeare - his work gets on my nerves unless I see it performed well. 

If you enjoyed BODIES, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy LITTLE GUY. If you haven't read BODIES yet, now would be a great time to grab copies of both books. Still plenty of time left for your summer reading! When people see you on the beach reading these, you will garner attention. The covers of both books are eye-catching, plus the look of enjoyment on your face will spark inquiry and possibly envy in passersby! Besides, life's too short to read boring books.

I know many will ask "what's it about?"

It's a collection of stories - so it's not one thing. The reader will glean whatever hidden meaning they want to believe is in there. If I'm being honest, I just enjoy storytelling. My favorite songs seem to fit that mold, as do my favorite books. So, if you enjoy somewhat dark, creepy little stories, I think you'll enjoy mine.

For those who ask "why short stories?" there is a reason. 

My old buddy Danny Gatton enjoyed reading but rarely had time to sit and enjoy a book. He admitted that most of his reading was done in the bathroom. If my editing skills are working the way I hope, a lot of my stories should fill that most precious and private time. I won't lie; I get a chuckle imagining my books in bathrooms everywhere. 


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