Q: In the epigraph to this book, you quote an interview of Charles Bukowski by Ace Backwords in which Bukowski says, "I just got hot and the outlet was there."
A: Yes. Both things are necessary.
You have to be hot when the
outlet is there. And the outlet has to be there.
Staying hot when the outlet
is not there is the challenge.
The years from 50 to 60 were good years for
Bukowski. The years from 60 to 70 were very good years.
I am 65. I haven't
seen a good year yet. But that could change at any time.
You just have to
stay hot, and not get your dauber down.
I tend to get my dauber down.
The years of hardship and disappointment have conditioned me to expect the worst.
Q: Give me an example.
A: I hadn't published a book-length book since Forty, 18 years ago.
Finally, a small press publisher wanted to publish a book of mine, Bukowski Never
Did This. And to pay me for the privilege.
But before he sent it off
to the printer he lost his day job.
I thought all was lost.
I thought
the deal was off.
I thought that the book had died before it was published.
It didn't even last as long as Forty, which sank pretty fast.
Q: But Pat Simonelli, LitVision Press, the Free-Range Rooster of Creative
Writing, came through.
The book is off to the printer.
It should
be ready in time for Philly Zine Fest, July 15-17.
He got it off with hours
to spare.
A: Yes.
Q: And Karl Wenclas, Underground Literary Alliance (ULA), is planning ULA events for the weekend of the zine fest.
A: Yes.
Q: And Jeff Potter, Out Your Backdoor Books, is on board to distribute Bukowski Never Did This.
A: Yes. And I have a commemorative Drouillard silver dollar, a new passport,
and a ULA Literary All-Stars trading card I made into a laminated badge.
Like the nigger in Where the Buffalo Roam showing his Hunter S. Thompson press
credentials at the Super Bowl, and saying, "See this, fucker."
Q: Wow. You can see your backstage wristband, from SpringFest.
A: And my grandfather's dog tags, from World War I. Next to the diver's watch, from when I worked on Navy SEAL material. I worked with an ex-SEAL on the training course for an 87' Patrol Craft, Fast (PCF) Halter Marine built for the Royal Saudi Navy. He wrote the curriculum outline and I did the rest, turning it into a full-blown, mil spec, Military Training Course.
Q: That doesn't make you a Navy SEAL.
A: No, but he respected my abilities.
I was as good at what I did
as he was at what he did and he couldn't do what I did, so we needed each other.
Q: Like a writer needs a publisher.
A: Like a writer needs a publisher, a publicist, and a distributor.
I have everything I need.