My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Email me at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
The show notes are as follows:
I received the proof copy of my new book, “Blue Whiskey”, and it looks beautiful. It’s a hardback printed by Lightning Source. I start off with a tip about working with your cover designer. Long story short, the tip is that you should ask your designer what stock photo source he or she prefers. Then YOU can go there and find any images you would like used for the cover. Since the designer probably hasn’t read your book, they probably can’t summon the same mental images that you can. I did this and it worked wonderfully.
I’ve been on a writing hiatus after writing every night for four years. I needed a breather to recharge the batteries and relax a little bit. I’m basking in the glow of completion.
I got to watch the Super Bowl at home, even though I don’t have cable. I talk a little bit about cutting the cable and dealing with the cable company, who seems to think I have cable still when I don’t. I want to give them the ultimate insult of all time, as the Mayor of London recently did to those who would challenge him, but I’m too nice.
The Super Bowl reminded me of some people I supposedly look like, but you’ll have to listen to see who. Next, I talk about hearing the same obscure musical artist three times in one day on the radio. You’ll have to listen to see who that was, too. (Sorry!)
Next, I talk about three movies about writers. The first is, “Where the Buffalo Roam”, which starred Bill Murray and is about Hunter S. Thompson. It was a reworking of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” with new settings. Instead of the Mint 500, he was going to the Super Bowl. The whole movie was non-stop insanity, and it got kind of old after a while.
I watched the “Salinger” documentary that came out in 2012. The guy was reclusive, as we all know, but he was also a borderline pedophile. He had relationships with a series of teenage girls. He also liked to eat something interesting on his popcorn.
Next, I talk about another documentary, this time about Bukowski. Alcohol plays a big part in Bukowski’s work and his life. He was paranoid about losing his postal job and had anxiety about that, until a man offered him an amount of money every month to be a writer.
There’s a new book coming out about alcoholic writers, and I give my thoughts on whether artists can create good work sober. I also talk a little about Phillip Seymour Hoffman, addiction, and recovery.