 Chris Mendius is a Chicago resident, so it only makes sense that his novel, Spoonful, is set in the windy city. Once on the fringes of the drug world that his novel revolves around, Chris is now a happily married man. I'm excited to have Chris join us today for a few questions.
AB: Despite its sometimes humorous tone, Spoonful has a dark and depressing side to it. It was so real at times that I felt as though I was reading a piece of non-fiction. How much reality was there to the stories within Spoonful?
Chris: Well, the story in a work of fiction, and none of the characters exist in real life. That said, the authenticity you and other readers seem to experience was possible due to my familiarity with situations and people I did know in real life. The world I created for Spoonful illuminates an often distorted reality of our society, and that glimpse into that particular worldview is part of what people seem appreciate about the book.
AB: You had an uncanny ability to make me forgive the main character for his actions, no matter how wrong they were. I was rooting for him the whole way through. What did you do to make your characters so likable?
Chris: I knew guys Michael, so it wasn’t a stretch. There are a lot of scumbag junkies out there, but there are also more complicated, interesting dope fiends. They’re not trying to hurt anybody. They’re just trying to get what they need—which requires them to work outside the law and civilized society. I'm glad you found Michael likable. I like him. But I make no moral judgments when it comes to what my characters do. I'm just trying to tell a good story.
AB: Having cleaned up, was it hard to revisit that time in your life, or was Spoonful part of the process?
Chris: It's been more than a few years since I had anything close to the type of lifestyle of Michael and his friends. It's been well over a decade. The story is set in in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood in the late '90s during the Clinton dot-com boom. The general zeitgeist of that period seems a lifetime away from today, and personally, it feels like ancient history to me. But I do think it took the time elapsed and the subsequent changes in my life to allow me to gain the perspective I needed to express the atmosphere of the time and place as well as describe the drug use and brawling and other elements of the story in a way that would draw in mainstream readers. At the time I wrote Spoonful a few years ago, I enjoyed revisiting that world in the safe, vicarious way writing the novel offered me.
AB: When you wrote Spoonful, did you intend to convey a message, or did you simply have a story to tell?
 TITLE: SpoonfulAUTHOR: Chris Mendius PUBLISHER: Anything Goes Publishing GENRE: Urban Fiction PAGES: 322 THE RUNDOWN Laden with sex, drugs and violence, Spoonful is a look into the life of a heroin addict. The main character, Michael, is a low-life with potential, and I started the book with high hopes for redemption. While Chris Mendius’ writing did not captivate me, the dialogue was real and the scenes were almost too believable. At times funny and most of the time shocking, each chapter ended with a cliffhanger that goaded me to keep reading. However, the cliffhangers were quick fixes: once the scene was resolved, another disconnected plot element sprung up. Halfway through the book, I began to get bored. Sure, the stories were entertaining, but it was the same thing over and over again. Although each chapter ended on a page turner, the plot simply did not develop. That’s when it hit me: Spoonful is entirely too real. Being addicted to drugs isn’t a fantasy, it isn’t pretty, and it goes nowhere. It makes smart people act stupid and the only thing that matters is the next fix. The plot meandered similarly: all that mattered was the next chapter, not the overall plotline. The book was one long downward spiral. If that’s what Chris Mendius was going for, he succeeded. Nevertheless, I found myself slightly disappointed when I finished the book. I wished that it had been shortened and condensed to portray a single plotline, and although I rooted for Michael throughout, I never completely connected with him. THE RECOMMENDATION If you’re ready for an intense trip that leaves you unsatisfied and asking for more, pick up Spoonful. Or, you could just shoot up and experience it for yourself. Spoonful might be the safer option, though. It goes without saying that this book isn’t suitable for a younger audience. LINKS Spoonful on AmazonAnything Goes Publishing If you enjoyed this review, you can subscribe to the Underground or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 Praise of Motherhood may paint a picture of a young man trying to scrape together the last strings of his sanity, but don’t let the memoir fool you: Phil Jourdan is a multi-talented man with a wealth of knowledge. Phil is working on a PHD in Religion and Comparative Literature from the University of Warwick, is part of a grunge band called Paris and the Hiltons, writes the off-beat blog Slothrop and is the co-founder of an emerging literary website and writing workshop called LitReactor. AB: Thanks for joining us today, Phil. Let’s start by talking about your memoir, Praise of Motherhood. When did you decide to put your experiences into writing? Phil: The very night my mother died. Simple as that. She died, and I wrote. What else was I going to do? I wasn’t sleeping alone in a suddenly very empty house. That wasn't pleasant. The dogs were there just looking confused. I needed a way out, and I couldn't really kill myself without feeling horrible about it the next morning, so I wrote. I was 21, I had unfailing self-confidence, and my mother was dead. "I'll write about this, I guess. Tell people about my pain." Well, that's not quite how it happened, actually. I was 21, I had just lost my mother that evening, and yes, I was alone in her house. But the writing wasn't a "decision" and I never decided to put my experiences into writing. It was more something like this: "Good God, what am I going to do with myself to survive tonight?" And the answer was writing, but that only became clear later on. I wrote a lot of rambling pages that night. I kept starting over: "My mother died tonight, and like Camus, I cannot cry." "Mom's dead, by the way." And the opening line that stuck for a year or so before I decided to change it: "So my mother died and it was very sad." That felt honest. It was a very different book at first, and I'd say everything changed, as far as the writing is concerned, when I did decide to write a "book" instead of just typing away to forget the pain. AB: Praise of Motherhood contains a lot of scenes that are improbable at best, and often simply impossible. You leave it up to the reader to decide what’s real and what’s in your head, if it’s imagined or simply a good metaphor. Why did you decide to write the book in such a surreal way, and still label it a memoir?
 TITLE: Praise of Motherhood
AUTHOR: Phil Jourdan PUBLISHER: Zer0 Books (imprint of John Hunt Publishing) GENRE: Memoir PAGES: 125 THE RUNDOWN Praise of Motherhood is a memoir about the life and death of Phil Jourdan’s mother, who stood by him throughout his tumultuous childhood. As much as the book is about his mother, it is about him: the hallucinations and violent urges that hospitalized him and defined his youth. To me, the book is a psychological study. On the one hand, we have a well-read, analytical narrator who seems to have his wits about him. On the other hand, we have a psychotic young man who simultaneously hates and loves his mother. The reader must ask, how can these two people be the same? There is a self-indulgent quality to the prose in Praise of Motherhood that is so honest in its presentation that I, the reader, assumed the same tendencies. I read the book at a frenzied pace and had to fight to put it down. The book is unusual and intoxicating, with an intentional lack of attention to time or reality. The narrator, Phil Jourdan, is so unreliable in his storytelling that I wanted to label it a novel, not a memoir. And yet, it read unlike any novel or memoir I have ever read. Praise of Motherhood lacks the ABC plotline that defines mainstream books. Other than some tangents that were slightly longer than necessary, the lack of direction in Praise of Motherhood didn’t slow me down. I would describe the contents of the book as philosophy, not story. Phil Jourdan is well-read, citing Freud, Oedipus, Kafka and other great minds, challenging their thoughts and applying his own. His writing is introspective and honest and there are more than a few gems sprinkled throughout the text. With his spellbinding stream-of-thought narrative, which revolves around the life and death of his mother, Phil manages to gain my respect despite the fact that I acknowledge his experiences as unreliable at best. THE RECOMMENDATION Readers who enjoyed The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath will eat up Phil Jourdan’s book. It is not a light read, but it is a quick one. Something that you will devour in a short period of time and digest for years to come. If you are looking for a new perspective, a dark twist on reality, pick up Phil Jourdan’s book. Additionally, anyone with a close friend or family member who is suffering from mental trauma or psychosis may gain some understanding of their loved one’s predicament by reading Praise of Motherhood. There are some mature moments which may not be suitable for a younger audience. Find Phil on FacebookVisit Phil's blog, SlothropIf you enjoyed this review, you can subscribe to the Underground or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 I don’t know how it happened, but I finally found someone crazy enough to represent my work. Not only that, but I’m working with some really awesome people to do the final touches. The Atheist’s Prayer will be published by Perfect Edge Books, a new imprint of John Hunt Publishing. Right now that’s all I can say. Except that they rock. I can say that too. Wait, what’s The Atheist’s Prayer about? OK, I’ll tell you, but only because you asked so nicely... A year ago, nineteen people were found dead in a remote area of the National Forest. They were lying in a circle, holding hands and wearing plastic fairy wings. The cause of death remains unknown. Experts claim that there is no possibility of a reoccurrence, but Candy knows better. She knows that there are copycats out there, and another suicide is imminent. The problem is, Candy is a coke-dealing stripper, and the only person who will listen to her is an alcoholic mall Santa named Hank, who’s only listening because, well… she’s hot. If Candy and Hank don’t figure their shit out, and quick, two innocent children will be dragged along on yet another deranged, fairy-worshiping suicide mission. Next Sunday, the ritual will begin. Inspired by Chuck Palahniuk and Christopher Moore, The Atheist’s Prayer follows a mentally disturbed woman, an alcoholic and a seven-year-old as their lives are brought together by a stripper and torn apart by a suicide cult. Underneath the crass humor, The Atheist's Prayer challenges our stereotypes and explores our interpretations of religion and myth. Dying to know more? You can follow me on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook or check out my website and I'll keep you updated. Till next time, AB Riddle
 Nathan Larson isn’t just the author of The Dewey Decimal System. He is also a musician, a producer, an artist, and a self-proclaimed “thought criminal.” He lives is New York City, which is also the setting of his post-apocalyptic novel. I’m excited to have Nathan with us today to answer a few questions.
AB: You’re obviously interested and involved in many different artistic venues. What made you move from visual and audio media, and try to write a book?
Nathan: The opportunity presented itself and I jumped on it. Had I not personally known Johnny Temple, who runs Akashic Press, it's quite likely I would have never thought to write a novel, particularly a "genre" type of thing. It came out of nowhere and I'm just so happy it did, it's like a bonus round for me.
AB: How long did it take you to write The Dewey Decimal System? Tell us a little bit about your writing process.
Nathan: I wrote this book over the course of perhaps 2 months, my wife was on bedrest, pregnant with our son, so I had taken some time off to look after her...this still left me with far more spare time than I'm accustomed to having, so in the extra hours I would write. Pretty much everything was written sitting in one chair, listening to either Steve Reich or King Tubby. Some of it was written at the NYP Library itself, in the very room about which I speak, so I could simply look up and make calculations as to where this or that was...I wrote fast and sloppy and had no plan, the rewrites then took another 2 months....so all told 4 months I'd say.
AB: In the world of publishing, I’ve found that connections are the most important way to get yourself noticed. Do you feel that your previous artistic ventures helped you secure a publisher?
 TITLE: The Dewey Decimal System
AUTHOR: Nathan Larson
PUBLISHER: Akashic Books
EDITOR: Ibrahim Amhad
GENRE: Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
PAGES: 251
THE RUNDOWN
Perhaps the fatal flaw of The Dewey Decimal System is the title itself. Never have I had to so adamantly defend a book from curious bystanders who said, “Wow, that sounds boring.” But despite the title, The Dewey Decimal System was one of the most engaging, fast-paced and entertaining novels I have read in a long time.
Dewey Decimal, our hero, is an OCD librarian-wannabe and part-time hit-man in post-apocalyptic New York City. The novel is told in a refreshing and entertaining voice as Dewey gets himself into trouble time and time again. Dewey is addicted to “little blue pills” and Purell hand sanitizer, and believes that his memories were implanted in his brain to replace who he used to be.
We don’t learn much about Dewey’s skills as a librarian, but we do learn that he’s not a very good hit-man. He quickly finds himself tangled in a death triangle that resembles a love triangle: Before the novel is out he has been assigned to kill the man he used to work for by the man he was originally assigned to kill, and has fallen in love with the woman that both men want dead. Throughout most of the book, he is dragging himself, wounded, from one danger to the next. I couldn’t put the book down, afraid that in my absence Dewey would be shot and killed.
While I enjoyed the book in the beginning, it’s a good thing I took some time between finishing The Dewey Decimal System and writing a review. If I had written the review the day afterwards, it would have been a long string of expletives. Looking back, a book that can incite so much passionate anger and frustration must be a good one.
I can’t fully explain my rage without giving away the ending, but I will suffice it to say that I read the book on the edge of my seat, waiting for answers about questions from the past. Some of the answers never came, and some of them were blatantly destroyed by Dewey himself. This left me tortured and wondering and very, very angry. That being said, I’ll be waiting with baited breath for the sequel, to see if Dewey will unearth some information and redeem himself from such a frustratingly stupid move.
THE RECOMMENDATION
Want non-stop action and a unique voice that keeps you turning pages long into the night? Want a post-apocalyptic scene that is unique and mysterious and chaotic? Pick up The Dewey Decimal System. Want an explanation for the current state of post-apocalyptic destruction, or at least some semblance of closure at the end of the book? Well, you might hold off until the sequel comes out, and hope that Nathan Larson has something good hidden up his sleeve.
 I'm pleased to introduce Ali Luke, online blogger and author of Lycopolis. Ali lives in the UK and blogs about writing on her site, Aliventures. AB: I understand that you based the fictional online world of Lycopolis on your own experience with text-based role-playing. What inspired you to write a story about online gaming? Ali: For several years before starting Lycopolis, I had the kernel of a story in my head – about a group of players who summon a demon into their game, without realising the consequences it’s going to cause in the real world. I wanted to write about the (sometimes slightly odd!) relationships we form online, and explore the boundaries between the real, the virtual, and the imaginary. Online gaming was a big part of my life in my late teens, and it seemed like a great fit. On a broader level, I'm interested in how digital media is opening up storytelling and publishing to more and more people: fan fiction, games, forums, ebooks ... there are so many great possibilities compared with twenty years ago. AB: Are you still involved in the online gaming community? Ali: Sadly not, because I’d never get any productive work done! AB: Your characters make up an eclectic cast. Did you base them off of people you know, or did you summon them up from your imagination? Ali: None of them are based on anyone real. I’d say that all of them carry some aspects of me (even the less-than-nice characters...) and I’m sure that’s the case for every author. After all, writing fiction is about getting inside people’s heads, and the only head we have access to is our own. AB: How long did it take to write Lycopolis? Was it your first attempt to pen a novel?
 TITLE: LycopolisAUTHOR: Ali Luke GENRE: Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy PUBLISHER: Self-published through Aliventures PAGES: Unknown - only available as an ebook THE RUNDOWN After finishing Lycopolis, I found myself wary to go to sleep, afraid I might be plagued by the same nightmares that haunted the characters in Ali Luke’s novel. Lycopolis is a fast-paced adventure that revolves around seven people who accidentally summon a real demon through an online role-playing game. The novel follows each of them as they struggle with their own greed, anger and fear… the emotions that the demon feeds off of. Ali writes clearly and concisely, without letting too much prose get in the way of her plot. There isn’t a slow spot in Lycoplis: it starts with action and ends with action. She gets into her characters’ heads and brings out their individual personalities so that we learn to love every single one of them. Of course we love protagonist, Kay, who is a misfit Oxford student and the only one strong enough to stand up to the demon. But even Seth, the antagonist and the mastermind behind the summoning, has his redeeming qualities. The narrative switches often from real life to the imagined online world of Lycopolis. In this alternate fantasy world, the seven main characters have different names, different appearances, and even different personalities. While I enjoyed Lycopolis thoroughly, I did wonder if some people might get confused by the online gaming foundation. I am familiar with online text-based role-playing, but I found myself wondering exactly how the game worked, and an in-depth explanation of the game isn’t provided until halfway through the book. The ending of Lycopolis did not disappoint. It was a fast read and made the perfect weekend escape. The plot was original and refreshing, and although some of the sub-plots were left on a loose end, I finished the book with satisfaction. Lycopolis is the first book of a planned trilogy, and I look forward to reading the sequel. THE RECOMMENDATION Online gamers will find Lycopolis to be a riveting, fun read. This is definitely a book for the younger generation, although tech-savvy adults will enjoy it as well. The content is clean enough to be labeled Young Adult, but the characters, which range from high school students to married adults, are eclectic enough that readers of all ages should be able to find a main character to identify with. THE LINKS Lycopolis on Amazon.comOfficial Lycopolis webpageIf you enjoyed this review, you can subscribe to the Underground or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 Roz Morris, the author of My Memories of a Future Life, is a writer, editor and book doctor who lives in London with her husband, the writer Dave Morris. Roz has written multiple books as a ghost writer, some of them best sellers, and has a how-to book about the art of writing novels that is called Nail Your Novel, along with a helpful blog of the same title. I chose to review Roz as a debut author because, even though she has numerous books under her belt, this is the first novel she has published using her real name. I’m excited to invite Roz to the Underground to answer a few questions.
AB: Your book, My Memories of a Future Life, follows a piano player who has lost her ability to play. I felt as though you had a real connection to the passion for music that the main character possessed. Do you have a musical background that inspired you to write with such musical passion?
Roz: Not formally. I can amuse myself on a piano, but I can't read a note. Professionals would probably cover their ears. I have had singing training, though it still never taught me to read the blobs. But I love being drenched in sound, or even better, making it. It's not that different from the way I feel about writing and stories - where we create experiences to explore and express the inexplicable.
So I found it very easy to inhabit a character who made music her life. I researched what it's like to play professionally and made friends with a concert pianist, who sorted out my misconceptions and led me to even better insights. I got to know some pieces very well - such as the Grieg piano concerto in A minor, a soaring, romantic piece with intricate history for the main character, Carol. I have a good ear anyway, but I marinated in that piece so often that I developed absolute pitch and could sing the note A out of thin air, accurately.
I’m so pleased that readers tell me I've captured the player’s way of life. It was love of making music and admiration for musicians that led me there.
AB: I was intrigued by the futuristic world that you created through Carol’s hypnosis sessions. In fact, I wanted more. You could have written the whole book about the futuristic underwater world, and I would have gobbled it up. How did you come up with such a fantastic setting?
|
