LIT AND LIBATIONS!

  

On March 30, I had the pleasure of joining the Lit and Libations Book Discussion Group for a little chat about THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK, hosted by the Frostburg State University Center for the Literary Arts and the Allegany County Library System at Dante's Bar.  

A few takeaways from the night:

• Most people don't know--nor do they care--about the subtle differences between a Martin D28 and D35.
• Twelve years in as a practicing Catholic scarred me more than a month in rehab.
• The bartender at Dante's makes a mean Negroni.  
• The only thing worse than telling the guy sitting next to you on the plane that you're a writer is telling him you're a poet. 
• Readers expect you to be able to answer questions about the things written in your book.

Many thanks to Gerry LaFemina for the invite, and to John Taube and Joni Reed for the support. Writers, poets, and readers have a lot of great support in Allegany County.  

And many thanks to the Frostburg State University Center for the Literary Arts and the Allegany County Library System for hosting such a fine series of events and opportunities for writers.

And I also have to give a quick shout-out to Dante's for absolutely being the coolest joint between DC and Morgantown. 

THE PRESTON BLACK MIX TAPE IS HERE!

See it at Amazon!

The PRESTON BLACK MIX TAPE bundle is a literary box set! (Almost 220,000 words of Preston Black goodness.) You get both Preston Black novels—THE DEVIL & PRESTON BLACK and THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK, plus two short stories that were only available in other anthologies. ALMOST A NEW YEAR is a vignette that shows how family and friends deal with the loss of a deployed soldier, in this case Stu Croe. RHYTHM OF WAR is Ben Collins’ first person account of his role in the Battle of Fallujah.

In addition to the stories above, you get the following essays, articles, and non-fiction bits I’ve published in various places over the course of writing the first two Preston Black novels:

• THE DEVIL & PRESTON BLACK Reading & Resource Guide
• THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK Reading & Resource Guide
• THE MUSIC OF THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK
• JASON JACK MILLER’S SOUNDCHECK: DON’T BE THAT GUY! THE FINAL SAY IN THE CONCERT T-SHIRT DEBATE
• JASON JACK MILLER’S SOUNDCHECK: THE MUSIC AND THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK
• Because You CAN’T, You WON’T, You DON’T Stop: ADAM YAUCH
• Murder Ballads and Old Magic
• A LOOK BACK, A LOOK AHEAD
• AMERICANA MUSIC: THE ROOT(s) of (SOME, NOT ALL) EVIL
• PATHS TO PUBLICATION: Preston Black
• PUTTING THE BOOK TO BED
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRESTON BLACK!

WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR

Thank you Albert Wendland for inviting me to participate in the My Writing Process (#mywritingprocess) blog tour.

1) What am I working on?

Right now I'm juggling a few things. As long as they don't fall at the same time, I'm good.

ALL SAINTS is the next part of the MURDER BALLADS AND WHISKEY series. It tells Ben's story after the events in THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK. Ben is dealing with his PTSD and some other issues as a few of some of Dani's old enemies close in. Right now I'm working on a section from Dani's POV that sets the stage for the events in ALL SAINTS to play out. I'm really excited to be telling her story, and in a way, I think I'm seeing MURDER BALLADS AND WHISKEY is as much about her as it is Preston, Katy and the gang. 

The other big thing I got going is the thriller I'm working on with Heidi. Kind of like CHILD 44 meets THE X FILES. Very, very excited about this.

Lastly, I'm repackaging THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK and THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK into an Amazon bundle which will include song lyrics, short stories, some article I've written about the music I curated for the books. Kind of a Preston Black 'starter kit.'
 

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

If anything, it's urban/dark fantasy meets rural noir. The back cover blurb for HELLBENDER describes it as 'JUSTIFIED with witches,' but it's a lot more than that. THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK reveals some strong literary elements while sticking to a fairly structured plot. Most of the horror elements are subtle, and of a more personal/less supernatural nature. THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK is a more tightly structured plot that lets it sit firmly in the catbird seat between dark fantasy, horror, and supernatural thriller.

The best part of this nebulous genre labeling? My readers come from across the spectrum. Literary readers see deeper meaning in Preston's actions. Romance readers see the love triangle between Preston, Katy and Dani. The only thing it isn't, is SF (until PRESTON BLACK AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, that is.)  

3) Why do I write what I do?

I write what I know and love. Music, travel and the power of place, meeting the girl of your dreams. I try to live in a way that puts her first, and I think that's why the relationships are always at the center of my plots. And then there's the drinking...

4) How does my individual writing process work?

My process doesn't emanate from any particular place. The plot of REVELATIONS came from an image I had in my head—a woman walking through a swamp with fistfuls of vipers. HELLBENDER was conceived when a crazy weekend on Spruce Knob, West Virginia joined forces with a bunch of guide stories I hoped to tell one day. The book is is essentially a result of my love of the mountains. THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK is my love letter to music.

But the process begins with a complete outline. Okay, 80% of an outline. Pages and pages of research—setting details, colloquialisms, historical details. I need to get as immersed in a world as I possibly can. The details let plot points reveal themselves to me as I go. That deep knowledge lets my outline—maybe that final 20%—materialize while I write.    

Here are some other participant responses:
Heidi Ruby Miller

Jen Brooks

Anika Denise 
Shawn Hopkins
Eva Hudson
Rhonda Mason
Albert Wendland
K. Ceres Wright

Murder Ballads and Whiskey on Kindle Unlimited!

All three of my novels are available on Kindle Unlimited! If you know anybody who is trying Kindle Unlimited out (and you enjoyed Preston Black's antics) please recommend these. I'd greatly appreciate it.

If you're unfamiliar with Kindle Unlimited, here's the description from Amazon:
 

Kindle Unlimited gives you the freedom to explore. Try new genres, discover new authors, and dive into new adventures with unlimited access to our wide and varied selection of books. From rhetoric to romance, or comedy to tragedy, you will find unlimited stories waiting to be discovered. Relive the classics you grew up with, start on that best seller you’ve been wanting to read or try one of the hundreds of thousands of books you won’t find anywhere. Find your next great read today. 

The Revelations of Preston Black Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Revelations of Preston Black

by Jason Jack Miller

Giveaway ends February 26, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

BOOTLEG: Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Oakdale Theater, Wallingford, CT, February 5, 1999

The days are getting longer, but not warmer. Back in the day Dave would take a break from the band and hit a bunch of small colleges with Tim Reynolds for a series of acoustic shows. This is one of them. Perfect listening for this time of year.

Download the show at Sugarmegs.


Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Oakdale Theater, Wallingford, CT, February 5, 1999

------------------------------------------------------
Disc 1 - set I
------------------------------------------------------
1. Dave talking
2. Granny
3. Say Goodbye
4. Lie In Our Graves
5. Best Of What's Around
6. Jimi Thing >
7. What Will Become Of Me>Pantala Naga Pampa
8. Too Much
9. Reconcile Our Differences
10. Don’t Drink The Water (This Land Is Our Land)
------------------------------------------------------
Disc 2 (set I cont.)
------------------------------------------------------
1. The Stone>Cant Help Falling In Love
2. Tim Solo
3. Crush
4. Two Step
5. Satellite
6. #41
------------------------------------------------------
Disc 3: (set I cont.)
------------------------------------------------------
1. Lover Lay Down
2. So Much To Say
3. Tim Reynolds solo
4. Crash
5. Dancing Nancies
-encore-
6. Typical Situation
7. I'll Back You Up
8. Watchtower
------------------------------------------------------

Ghosts of Christmas Past--Easy Bake Oven!

Now there's a happy set of kids. 

Beatles on Ready Steady Go, November 23, 1964.

So I'm watching this Beatles vid from this day in 1964, and I'm trying to draw parallels to my own career. Which is stupid, because I'm not a Beatle. But I figure THIS is still their infancy. THIS is the band before the alternate personas and transcendental meditation.

I know, I know... These are The Beatles and you're just writing books about a guitar player and a woman who may or may not be the devil. But I love the idea of a young band, playing just to play. Smiling at the camera like nobody's watching. And that's how I write on a good day. Like nobody's reading. And that's why I'm going to continue to look at The Beatles as role models in 2014. And the haters can just keep hating.

THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK is live!

Get it for your Kindle or Kindle app now! 

BOOTLEG: The Civil Wars, One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans, July 8, 2011

In honor of the impending cover reveal for THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK, I've decided to post a little music from a duo that really helped shape the way I saw Katy and Preston when I was writing the novel. (Give Joy a fiddle and plug John Paul into an old Fender Twin and you see where I'm going with this.)

One of the things that always immediately got me with The Civil Wars was the way they completely filled a song's aural space with just vocal harmonies and a guitar.  They put a show together using an amazing variety of tonal textures and tempos, mixing originals and covers so fluidly you'd swear each song was their own. The end result is nothing short of amazing, and I'll always regret never having been able to see a show live.

Oh, yeah. They broke up some time after completing their self-titled second studio album, to be released later this year. With a name like 'The Civil Wars' I guess we should've seen it coming.

Spotify Playlist: Mellow Like a Rabbit in Clover

Figured I'd try some new ways this summer to put a little of that Preston and Katy vibe out there into the world, hence, this new feature. Every week I'll give you a little mix handpicked from the music I love so much, based around a really loose theme. Hope you enjoy it.

DOWNLOAD: The Indie Band Survival Guide! (Works for writers, too.)

The secret? Works great for writers too. Special web edition available for free via Creative Commons.

http://www.reverbnation.com/ebook/indie_band_survival_guide.pdf

http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8756

From TIME: Literary Revolution in the Supermarket Aisle: Genre Fiction Is Disruptive Technology

I happily avoid the literary/genre debate, because no good can come from such discussions. Feelings get hurt, people cry. But by not worrying about the distinctions between genres, or between genre and literary, I've been free to write pretty much whatever I've wanted. So don't call me a 'genre writer' or a 'literally writer.' I'm neither. I'm a happy writer.

Writers should take the time to read Grossman's commentary though, if only to arm yourselves against the haters.

"Blue-chip literary writers — finding that after years of deprivation under the modernist regime their stores of plot devices are sadly depleted — have been frantically borrowing from genre fiction, which is where plot has been safely stockpiled for all these decades."

"Something nagged at me while I was reading Krystal’s piece, something familiar, and I’ve finally figured out what it is: it’s another New Yorker piece, from a few weeks ago, a profile of Clayton Christensen, the Harvard business professor who first applied the word “disruptive” to technology. Christensen had observed that in many industries, established companies based on high-end, sophisticated technologies tend to become complacent. They consider themselves invulnerable, or at best they look for challenges from even-higher-end technologies. But they’re looking in the wrong places, and what in fact happens is that they are disrupted from below: crude, low-end technologies develop at the bottom of the marketplace, then evolve to the point where they take over their markets and displace the established high-end companies, who never saw it coming.

I’m beginning to wonder if something like that is happening in contemporary fiction. We expect literary revolutions to come from above, from the literary end of the spectrum — the difficult, the avant-garde, the high-end, the densely written. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on. Instead we’re getting a revolution from below, coming up from the supermarket aisles. Genre fiction is the technology that will disrupt the literary novel as we know it."

Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2012/05/23/genre-fiction-is-disruptive-technology/#ixzz2MObwFIUE

TOP NINE: Duets

Just in time for (the day after) Valentine's Day, here are Preston Black's Top Nine Duets!

#9 'Islands in the Stream' Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

From The Devil and Preston Black: My brother and me were pretty much forced to listen to whatever mom played in the car. Mostly country. Kenny and Dolly singing "Islands in the Stream."

 

#8 'Hunger Strike' Temple Of The Dog (Feat. Chris Cornell & Eddie Vedder)

 

#7 'Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart' Against Me! and Tegan Quin.

 

#6 'Fairytale of New York' The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

 

 #5 'Wake Up' Arcade Fire and David Bowie

 

#4 'Rich Woman/Gone, Gone, Gone/Done Moved On' Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

 

#3 'Safe and Sound' Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars

 

#2 'Jackson' Johnny Cash and June Carter

From The Revelations of Preston Black: "Jackson" came through the shitty speakers first. I looked at Katy and smiled but she just rolled her eyes. I said, "You're hotter than a pepper sprout, you know that, my love?"

She smiled an acknowledgement. "Haven't heard that one yet."  

#1 'If I Fell' The Beatles

Who'd you think I was going to put at #1? Alice Cooper? Whatevs.

From The Revelations of Preston Black: Ignoring the request, we played them our version of Arcade Fire's "Deep Blue" and finished the night with an abbreviated version of our setlist. Harmonizing with Katy on an a cappella "If I Fell" as an encore was my personal highlight. It was something we always practiced in the car—Katy doing the Paul part and me doing the John part—but never sang in public. The song had become our little secret, our way of telling each other that everything was going to be just fine. And after tonight, a little assurance was all we needed.
 

Happy birthday, Preston Black!

    A man blocked my path to the door. The PO from yesterday. I stepped to the side to get around him as another man came in. When I saw the tattoo sleeves on his arms, blues and reds running together into a mass of blotches I knew it was the guy from last night. Up close I could see dried blood bumps and scabs formed over his ink. The only teeth he had left looked like the black licorice nubs from Good & Plentys.
     "That your guitar in there?" he said. He got real close, and I took a step back, but he kept moving toward me. Close enough to see all his shitty tattoos.
     He said, "I knew who you was the second I saw you. That Dago bitch told me you died same day your mother did. But I know flesh and blood. I know it." His breath smelled foul. Sulfurous and acidic. Matches and acetone.
     On his forearm I saw a heart with an arrow through it. My mom's name was in the heart. Carlene July 16, 1966-September 1, 1983. The lettering looked like it'd been written in black Sharpie. 

     And right below it I saw an angel, and in the angel, the words Preston February 13, 1983-September 1, 1983.

It's a little hard to believe I began the first draft of The Devil and Preston Black way back in February 2008. The specifics are a little difficult to recall, but I know it was cold, probably snowy, and Heidi and I were at Panera. Besides the original drafts and notes, I can't say much about my headspace from back when I started The Sad Ballad of Preston Black, as it was called then, but I'm not surprised to see that the one thing that didn't really change a whole lot was my first line—I wish I could say I found that record the first time I walked into the place. (As I looked through my notes, I was very surprised to see that Danicka was pretty much an afterthought. "Need a shadowy devil figure in there.  Maybe the woman, his girlfriend?  She could be a good temptress.")

I knew I had to do a music book. Guitars, The Clash, amps and pedals and chords. I had to find a way to get two of my biggest passions together—like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup with words. At the time, writing started to feel more like business and less like an urge. I'd spent a year querying Hellbender and kept getting the '…we don't know how to market it' rejections. Pretty frustrating stuff. Every writer knows the feeling. Musicians and artists know the feeling. Athletes know the feeling. Then it hit me—Preston needed to embody the conflict I felt with publishing and the frustrating fear that it'd never find its way into print.

Once I got that first chapter down, the story wrote itself. I stuck to my outline and decided The Devil and Preston Black wasn't for the agents.

This book was for me.

And since then, the book has become a lot more than a gift to myself and for that I am very grateful. In my mind, Preston symbolizes the struggle to create and to publish, and at the end of the day the book has come to represent the fulfillment I've found in some very unlikely places. The book has let me step into the magic of Nashville, Tennessee's Hatch Show Print, and it has allowed me to stand on stage with John Lennon and Duane Allman. Ultimately, it's given me some magical (and literal) glimpses behind the curtain (Thanks, Joe Streno! (scroll down to see the Strummer pic I'm talking about)) and in the end I received the contentment and satisfaction I'd always hoped for, but a thousand times over.

The book has been a way for me to meet and interact with thousands of people—both readers and people from within the publishing industry—who have overwhelmed me with their kindness and generosity. People from all over the U.S. and all the way over in the U.K. who have reviewed the book or have written let me know that the book has impacted them in some way.

So if you are one of these fine folks, you helped make this one hell of a trip. Remember Preston when you raise a glass this weekend because I'm going to be thinking of you.

PS: Before you start drinking, take a minute to check out Raw Dog Screaming Press's post on the same subject. (Thank you, Jennifer!)

AU REVOIR, 2012.

So, twelve months ago I did a 'year in review' post that generated thousands of hits for me because I included an image of Justine Bateman (removed for copyright purposes) that somebody on an IMDB GAME OF THRONES message board linked to. Thought she looked like Arya.

But I won't resort to such cheap tactics this time around.

Why?

Despite the loss of a gallbladder and having our car forced over a guardrail and smashed by a former student, things worked out pretty damn good for me this year. You can say what you want about The Second Law of Thermodynamics, but I think there's something to it (if John Edward Lawson is to be believed.)

For me, the last twelve months were about friendship, and being part of a team. Working with Jennifer and John from Raw Dog Screaming Press has been a damn-near perfect creative experience. Talking with them never fails to widen my field of view in new and exciting ways. Mike Arnzen always motivates and inspires me, even when he doesn't realize that's what he's doing. Maybe it's just his subversive nature, but Arnzen's Five Rules of Writing (or three, until we remember the last two) didn't write themselves. As for the remainder of the creative types--Tricky, Deanna, Stephanie, D. Harlan, Dustin, Lee... I consider myself lucky to be able to siphon off so much energy from you all. 

And Heidi, I can't imagine a life without a creative partner like you. Do I know how lucky I am to see you whenever I look up from my laptop with a question? You know it. Thank you for helping to make this such a wonderful year. And thank you for inspiring me. Big things ahead. 

Yeah, 2012 was a pretty amazing year. I think we can do better in 2013.

(And Katy, Preston, Pauly and Ben--see you in 2013. Going to be a hell of a year.) 

PRESTON BLACK'S OPENING ACT! Black Bear Burritos, Morgantown, WV, December 8, 2012.

I just wanted to do a real quick post to put up some pictures and thank everybody who helped make Saturday so amazing! You guys blow my mind. We had West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania represented, UHS peeps, SHU peeps (is this seriously the first time I ever noticed that?), Morgantown Poets, more Raw Dogs Screaming Press editors, authors, poets, and friends than you could shake a stick at, two toddlers, some cousins, brothers, sisters and moms, a wife and a whole bunch of new friends who showed up to get their hands on Preston (or Katy.)

First and foremost, I have to thank Heidi, for making everything seem so easy. Without you, this is just another job.  

I'd especially like to thank Jennifer and John from Raw Dog Screaming Press for being a writer's and reader's best friend, and give a special shout-out to their assistant Ripley, for making sure this event remained zombie-free.

I also have to give a special thank you to Tony from Abacus Jones for keeping the music flowing. (Joe and Jason, your thanks will come fifteen minutes later, just like you guys.) Seriously, you sounded amazing and kept folks smiling.

Last, and certainly not least, I want to thank the gang at Black Bear Burritos Downtown for their endless supply of awesomeness!! You're support and enthusiasm never cease to blow my mind. And the food... The (Ham)bender was 3.75lbs of savory deliciousness and I loved every bite!

Joe and Ayla, I can not even begin to tell you how amazing you've been over these last few weeks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are the best.        

Yinz should've been there.

If you weren't, here's what it looked like:
 

Gruß vom Krampus!

A collection of my Krampus memes from the last few days!

  Happy Krampusnacht and Gruß vom Krampus!

 

Preston Black's Opening Act

Just a reminder that there's a little get-together at Black Bear on Pleasant Street this Saturday! Kind of a pre-launch for THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK. It's a causal thing, and everybody's invited. Just stop by if you're in town. We'll have music by ABACUS JONES--an amazing group of guys--and a raffle to benefit The Friends of the Cheat.

Saturday, December 8, 2-4pm. Black Bear Burritos, Pleasant Street. Hope to see some of yinz there.

 

Worse than cold sores.

Sir John Edward of Lawson infected me (like I always knew he would,) and now it's my turn to spread the disease. Basically, it involves searching for the first  use of the word “look” in your work in progress, then pasting that paragraph, and those immediately before and after, into a blog post, after which you spread the disease to five other authors.   

 

This is from the very, very beginning of THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK, a little alt newspaper article about an upcoming show. Kind of tells us a little about Katy and Preston since last we saw them.

     From the moment she walks across that stage, you know Katy Stefanic is the kind of girl you could fall in love with. Though romantically involved but not married, the pair play off of each other like they have been attached at the hip for no less than twenty years, instantaneously responding to frequent and impulsive key and tempo changes. Call me jaded, but watching Stefanic and Black work the aural space over the crowd mesmerized me in a way only more seasoned acts have been able to do in recent years. Except for the random, "Marry me, Katy," (or, "Call me, Preston,") the crowd remains stone silent during ballads and quiet instrumentals. Even more curious is the way audience responds to the mix of old time throw-down melodies and punk-fast tempos with fists in the air and good old-fashioned foot stomping. And when the lights came up for the first encore the frenzied crowd responded like Joe Strummer himself  was going to join them for a song or two.

     I had a chance to talk to Stefanic and Black after their show in D.C. last Saturday and asked them about their relationship and how it affected their musical development. Preston was more than content to let his beloved Katy do most of the talking. With a wide smile, she folded her  hands over her knee and explained, "Sharing music with somebody is a lot like sharing a bed. After a while you start to know when something's building, when things are going to sour, when the temperature's going to change with just a look."

     Preston added, "It's like yinz and y'all. Same language, just different ways of saying things. What the audience hears is where we meet in the middle."

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