this is an interview to help advertise my new book, DRINKING UNTIL MORNING wich will be published by BLACK COFFEE PRESS in july 2010. the art work above is by jason gorcoff. it was inspired by the novel.

What is your writing process?
I try to write at least two thousand words a day.

What is the last great thing you read?
A Feast of Snakes by Harry Crews.

How did your novel Drinking Until Morning come about?
I had just finished a pornographic novel called ROLL OVER, and I was tired of writing about sex, so i decided to write about a period of time when I wasn't having sex. God, i was lonely. I was living with my aunt. The affects of my mother’s death felt very ripe and very sore. I was horny but having horrible luck with women. My heart was a pile of gray ash.
While writing this I hoped to find some humor in this experience. As the novel developed I was pleased with how candidly I was able to write about this time period. The story was sadder than I expected it to be but it was also very funny. And though I had started it to try and avoid writing about sex, it ended up being a very erotic novel as well. I just can’t help myself.

Kryptonite was Superman’s greatest weakness, his Achilles heel. What would you say is your greatest weakness as a writer? How do you work to overcome it?
I read too much Bukowski. But fuck it, right? I’ll gnaw on that piece of kryptonite like it was the last pare of tits in the world. Hell, when it comes to literature, sometimes it feels like this might be the case.
When I was young all I wanted to do was write like Bukowski. To this day I still prefer to write gritty first person narratives. Only I have realized that I am less like Bukowski and more like a mixture of Chris Farley and Rosanne. There is a little Bukowski in there too, just not that much. It has been a humbling process to learn how to write honestly about myself. But as long I keep writing honestly I don’t feel I have to worry about being too influenced by old Bukowski or any other writer.

What are you working on right now?
I am working on a book of poems called HIS COCK IS MONEY. Then there is a book of college stories called ADULT CAMP, based on the column I wrote for my college paper, back when I was a student. It’s a beast. When I am done I hope it will read like a real morbid version of a national lampoons movie. I am also working on a western series.

Do you have a favorite place to write, read or just plain chill? Describe it.
I like to drive. I can drive for days only stopping to drink and shit and fill up on gas. I only drive back roads. I liked driving by small remote towns late at night, seeing a light on in a house and wondering why that person was still awake.
I wish I could read or write while driving.

What is the best song to accompany love making?
When I was in college I lived in the dorms. The walls were thin and noise traveled easily. When I was having sex I would turn on the radio and play classical music really loud to try and cover up the noise. I like listing to classical while having sex. It makes my dick feel like a genius. Like it is capable of figuring out the origins of the universe. I’m a cheap son of bitch though, and all I owned was a cheap clock radio I had bought at a thrift store. It wasn’t very loud, and people could still hear screaming and moaning and slapping noises. The classical music just made it creepier. My friend Bailey described it as the “type of music serial killers listen to.” She said “it sounds like your torturing someone in there.”

What would you name yourself if you were a pirate?
I think I would have to insist that my shipmates call me Mr. Grimbol. The female crew members would like this. When I took them to my chamber they would be able to pretend that they are not pirates but instead students and that I am their teacher. “Arr, you haven’t done ye homework now I must paddle ye bottom with me ruler. Arrr.” And then I would turn on the some Chopin.

What is your favorite curse word?
Poon-tang. Wait, that’s just my favorite word. My favorite curse word would be...yeah, I would have to say its poon-tang as well.

What question should I have asked?
Pubic hair?
Yes.

What’s your favorite band right now?
Lil Wayne and Birdman.

Why did you decide on the route you have taken as a writer and how has this worked out for you?
I love to write about myself. I mean I really, really love it. But I also get very jealous of writers that do write more purely fictionally work like Larry McMurtry. It seems like fun to have an entire world full of charters in your head, going ape shit, trying to get onto the page. In interviews McMurtry frequently talks about feeling attached to certain characters. I want to experience this. So, to explore this I have started writing a western. Writing these little fuckers has been a fun. Its campy. But I like that.

What’s been the big influence on your work?
My friend Gorcoff. He is the least pretentious man I have ever known. A few years back we drove through the Rockies together. We were both impressed by how large and jagged and unforgiving the mountains looked. I kept writing these long overly abstract poems. They were awful. Then I heard Gorcoff compare it to a video game we used to play when we were little. “This is like Death Mountain from Zelda,” he said, “Gannon lives up there. We got to go and save the princess bro.” Jesus, I thought, It’s true. It reminded me of Death Mountain too. This mans a better poet than I could ever be. (He’s doesn’t write poetry though. He paints. If you want to check out some art work based on my writing check out his blog at jgorcoff.blogspot.com)

If you could speak to a whole room full of high school kids what would you say?
I would give them nothing but bad advice. It’s the bad advice that leads to the best memories. I’d tell them to go out and smoke weed and grow side burns and make sure to give your parents plenty of hell. Don’t fall in love with the one girl for too long. Tenderize that heart. Get it stepped on at least a dozen times a year.

Who are your favorite writers and why?
Bukowski. Larry McMurtry. John Fante and Dan Fante. Cormac McCarthy. And an old Chinese poet named Tao Chien. They write simple prose. Except for Cormac, they are all funny as hell. Much of what they write about is sad. It can be so sad that it is crushing. But sadness, if written well, can be very exciting. I get excited when I read these guys. Sometimes I get so excited that I start punching the air or my pillow and I start grunting and screaming “yeah! Mother-fucker, yeah!!!” It’s like watching the last scene in Karate Kid. When I was little I would watch this movie I would get so hyped up that I would spend the rest of the day running around trying to karate fight everything. Then in college, before going out drinking, my friend Bailey and I, would watch Karate Kid, but just the last fifteen minutes, and it would get us all hyped up and then we would go out and try to get laid. It was best. Most time I didn’t get laid and I would just get too drunk and act crazy. But that was best too. And that’s how exciting reading these guys can be for me. I feel that same kind of excitement deep in my guts. Ahh…best….

Who was the first person you told when you learned Black Coffee Press wanted to publish you?
My girlfriend Heather. We had to turn the classical music up real loud that day.