28 May 2011

New Back Cover Copy

Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Gracias!

Preston Black has a nasty habit of falling in love with the wrong type of woman. But girls who don't play nice are the least of his problems. This handsome bar band guitarist isn't washed-up, but he's about to be. He's broke, he's tired of playing covers and he's obsessed with the Curse of 27.

He's about to add 'deal with the devil' to his list.

Lucky for Preston, he has help. Like the angelic beauty who picks him up when he's down. And the university professor who helps him sort through old Appalachian hexes and curses to find the song that may be his only shot at redemption. And when things get real bad, he has the ghost of John Lennon to remind him that "nothing is real."


Buy the THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK on Amazon.

24 May 2011

ARMCHAIR BEA: BEA Giveaway!


Preston Black has a nasty habit of falling in love with the wrong type of woman. But girls who don't play nice are the least of his problems. This handsome bar band guitarist isn't washed-up, but he's about to be. He's broke, he's tired of playing covers and he's obsessed with the Curse of 27.

He's about to add 'deal with the devil' to his list.

Lucky for Preston, he has help. An angellic beauty who picks him up when he's down. A university professor who steers him past old Appalachian hexes and curses toward the song that may be Preston's only shot at redemption. And the ghost of John Lennon, who reminds him that "nothing is real."


If you are an Armchair BEA participant interested in receiving a copy of my novel THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK, drop me a line at jasonjackmiller at gmail dot com. I'll send you a Smashwords coupon code for the book.

Heidi Ruby Miller: HEIDI'S PICK SIX: JASON JACK MILLER (The Devil and...

Heidi Ruby Miller: HEIDI'S PICK SIX: JASON JACK MILLER (The Devil and...: "HEIDI'S PICK SIX As part of the virtual book tour for Many Genres, One Craft and Armchair BEA 2011 , this week kicks off my MGOC author i..."

23 May 2011

ARMCHAIR BEA: Who am I?


I'm Jason Jack Miller, dammit. I like to write fiction that contains a healthy dose of the unusual, somewhere in-between urban fantasy and magical realism. My novel, THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK is about a guitarist who falls in love with the wrong girl, the type of girls who may, or may not have gotten him involved in a deal with the devil.

Music is my other passion, and if you take a look at some of my other posts you'll see that I'm highlighting performances from artists who appear in my book. All downloads are 100% safe and 100% legal. I like to think I'm providing a soundtrack for the book.

Please leave a comment if you stopped by. If you'd like a free eBook version of my novel, THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK, email me at jasonjackmiller at gmail dot com and I'll send you the link and a Smashwords coupon code.

Follow me on Twitter @jasonjackmiller I follow back!

22 May 2011

THE MUSIC AND PRESTON BLACK Foo Fighters, Austin City Limits, September 29, 2008


From THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK:

     I took a deep breath.
     Maybe it was cliché to start soft and let it build, but that was what worked. "Stairway", "Everlong", "Two Step". I didn't really see myself having a choice. So I sang the first verse a capella. Just like Ernie Currence sang in his kitchen, except in tune. I slapped my knee with my hand. "I never knew my mom or a dad. No, I never knew my mom or dad. Didn't know when I was born, didn't know when I'd die, didn't know nothing about the how or why. Preston Black didn't know his mom or dad."
     The ironic thing was the way they ate it up. Their attentiveness was obvious, because I'd seen a lot of crowds who could give a shit. And I wondered how many of them believed my story, and how many of them thought it was bullshit, but liked it anyway.
     I continued a capella, but this time Katy played, squeezing out a dissonant drone from her fiddle like fingernails down a chalkboard. She twisted the minor key, giving the song a gothic stain.
     "Preston Black couldn't quench his thirst. Preston Black couldn't quench his thirst. But he'd go to the bar every night and be dry again by the morning light, Preston Black couldn't ever quench his thirst."
     Katy built on the song's melody, playing notes complementary to mine but never the same note. Her tones and my words filled the space above the crowd with strange, new chords. Smothered them with noise.
     While Katy played I turned around and eased the Twin's volume up. I looked for the sound guy, maybe trying to tell him I was about to drop bombs. When he nodded I got ready for the next verse.


Buy the THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK on Amazon.

Download the show at Sugarmegs.com

Foo Fighters

HD Digital Broadcast on KEDT-TV (Austin City Limits)
Captured on Motorola DCH 6416 Digital Video Recorder
Transferred via Zoom H2 (line-in via RCA jacks) at 44.1 kHz, 16 bit

Zoom H2 > wav file > Sony Soundforge 8.0 > Traders Little Helper > flac

Sony Soundforge was used to split the large wav file into tracks and to fade in at the beginning and fade out at the end. TLH was used to correct sector boundary errors and to convert to flac.

This show was originally broadcast on PBS Soundstage on January 17, 2009 but was recorded on September 29, 2008.

01. Young Man Blues 5:31
02. Skin and Bones 4:55
03. My Hero 5:30
04. But Honestly 5:35
05. Everlong 9:48
06. Monkeywrench 1:48
07. All My Life 4:31
08. Aurora 9:24
09. The Pretender 4:59
10. Interview 1:17

Band Credits
Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar
Taylor Hawkins – drums, vocals
Nate Mendel – bass
Chris Shiflett – guitar, vocals
Jessy Greene – violin, cello, vocals
Drew Hester – percussion
Rami Jaffee – keyboard, accordion, piano, mellotron
Pat Smear – guitar

A Turbo Music Production

Please do not remaster or convert files to MP3 or any other format with the intent to redistribute them. Please share this content freely in its original format.