BOOK NEWS: ‘Talk Jock Twits’ coming soon.

 

Small town writer Josh White thinks he’s on the road to notoriety and, better yet, popularity when he begins working for a local talk radio station in Trapper, Arizona. Instead he finds himself immersed in a seedy underworld of drugs, sex and backstabbing bastards. Welcome to the world of Talk Jock Twits.Talk Jock Twit

My upcoming novella “Talk Jock Twits” started back in the 1990s when I worked for a small AM station in Williams, Arizona. After drowning in the job for a few years, doing everything from running baseball games at night to hosting a short-lived weekend talk show, I bowed out of the biz and resolved to never again work in the odd little field. But I never forgot it. A decade later I unearthed some of my notes, sort of a journal that described those days of radio craziness, and started fleshing out what would become this little novella.

So, while some of the experiences are real, the story itself is not. While the characters on based on real life people, some of whom I still know and call friends, their names and actions have been altered. A few people might still get pissed off about it, however, since I write cynically. But this is a fiction novel. Some may call me an ass for writing it. Some may think it’s a terrible example of a regal occupation.

But for those suffering from the scars of talk jock bloodshed, call it therapy.

 

When Pollen speaks…

Let me just take a moment to sit on your fine old couch Pollen-1and put my feet up, figuratively speaking of course. It’s been a great war so far, right? And you’ve done your part like a champ. But it’s not easy. It may look easy, but this crap leaves me tired. From all reports it’s working. We’ve got him nailed. Have you seen the reports? It’s like a wish list from Amazon – everything you could ever desire. All you can hope for. You got anything to drink? I like those Cactus Coolers. Don’t tell me what’s in them for God’s sake, but give me at least two of those bad boys. They’re so damn good. I like to slam the first one and then suck on the second like a babe to a nip.
This is a comfortable couch by the way. I like it when they get old and lumpy. Makes them more comfortable. When they’re new they feel like slabs of wood. That’s not a good way to relax. But this one? Man, I feel like a king on this puppy. Don’t mind my barbed body. It won’t leave a lasting impression.
Those reports. You’ve seen them, right? He can’t even blow his nose. His head feels like it’s full of cotton. Yeah yeah, I know, we thought we were getting ahead last year when we heard all that the first time. Then he got better. He outlasted us. Plain and simple. But check out page three. Hey, you got any food? I’ve got a thing for cheese sticks these days. The pepper jack ones are da bomb. What about salami? You got any of that?
No? Shoot. That’s all right.
Read the rest of Pollen’s rant here.

Geektastic thoughts on bad comic books

It was embarrassing back when zits were common. But only a little. Zits were worse, and there was no way to hide the little bastards. They always returned for encore performances. Comic books could be hidden, in mere seconds if neeNFL_Superpro_Vol_1_8d be. That way chicks would only see the Black Sabbath posters. There would be no question to the coolness.

It’s not like comic books are that lame. They’re only a little lame and monumentally amazing. And I was reading them, Marvel titles mostly, for a very long time, longer than the zit parade stuck around – and that juvenile time might have been better spent chasing budding young girls, but that’s debatable and not the point. Maybe the time would have been better spent reading Lovecraft and Tolstoy, as some of my friends did, or Anne McAffrey and Kurt Vonnegut, as other friends did. Instead of reading classic Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, pouring over John Byrne and Steve Ditko, Ann Nocenti, Chris Claremont and Todd McFarlane, I should have been sucking in the crap found on the horny, learned trails blazed by America’s Road Scholars.

Click here to read the rest on Patrick’s Literary Turns blog.

 

REVIEW: Author and Artist R.E. Lieske

REVIEW: Author and Artist R.E. Lieske

LiteratureEve's Tarot, like art, continues to transform and evolve. Those who say either medium is dead have only themselves to blame. You’re not looking in the right place.

Take storybooks for adults, small works of literature the size of a long novel chapter and mixed with captivating fine art, like the astounding work of artist and writer R.E. Lieske. If you’ve not heard of the idea, give it a shot.

Click the link above to read more of Patrick’s review!