Apr
30
A while ago Beth asked me if I’d like to take part in a blog book tour and I said what the hell, sign me up. I’ve been reading Beth’s site for a while and I was pretty certain she wouldn’t foist something on me like 503 Ways for Mommies to Be Better Mommies Through the Careful Daily Application of One-Size-Fits-All Intense Mommying Solutions, which seems to be the sort of book I normally get pitched.
She mentioned that the book was by an author named Marshall Karp, someone she does some work for and who’s also become a family friend. Marshall was kind enough to email me and I could tell right away that he seemed like a good egg. He wrote, in part:
“When I started putting together this Blog Tour (a subject I know nothing about) I was looking for bloggers who wrote about mystery and hopefully had read the first one or two books in the Lomax and Biggs franchise. And then Beth mentioned you. I went to your site, and rethought my specs.
I love how you think, how you write, and how you put the thoughts into words and treat the whole deal with a sense of irreverence, as if you’re just ladling up so much blog fodder, which makes me realize that it’s so much more than that.”
Obviously the man is a genius with impeccable taste, right? Also, now I kind of had a crush on him. Bring it on, book tour!
Then the book arrived and I was like, uh oh. It’s a mystery. I mean, I technically knew it was going to be a mystery but uhhhh, it’s a MYSTERY. Dag.
I am not a big mystery fan, although I couldn’t really tell you why. After all, I enjoy novels that contain dead bodies—as many as possible, please!—I like grim situations, and I like to get engrossed with the story and wonder where in hell it’s going. It seems like I’d be the perfect fan, and yet it’s been a genre I tend to avoid.
Maybe there’s a part of my mouthbreathing lizard-brain that thinks I’m too stupid for mysteries, or at least pointlessly annoyed by the idea that while I’m reading along, clueless as to whodunit, there is this invisible army of jerkheads who would have totally figured it out by now. You know how some people are all, oh, I identified the killer by chapter two and la la la I’m a fucking MENSA god? Well, suck it, Sherlock. No one’s giving you a gold star.
Uh. I probably just have issues. Anyway, so I was a little worried about whether I was going to enjoy the book and if I’d finish it in time to take part in the tour (my reading habits have thoroughly changed in the last few years, in that I used to read all the time and now I mostly get a few pages in while I’m lying in bed at the end of the day fighting off the impending coma long enough to finish this one chapter JESUS DAMN IS THAT THE BABY CRYING?), but: surprise! Flipping Out is 100% enjoyable.
Or, well, I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise, since Beth told me about it and promised it would be a good read, but then again I remember how Beth once said she crawled in her kid’s crib to help him get to sleep so clearly she is both incredibly flexible and at least partially deranged.
Anyway. I really, really liked Flipping Out: the characters are great, the police procedure storyline is fascinating, and it’s funny.There’s enough gritty stuff to please anyone looking for suspense in a crime novel, but with lots of hilarious banter and colorful, unforgettable characters. It’s a fun read, and if you’re looking for, say, a beach book, this feels a lot more satisfying than anything with a pair of heels on the cover.
(Unless the heels are dripping in blood. Then, let’s talk.)
I asked Marshall if he wouldn’t mind indulging in a little author Q&A, then belatedly realized I have no idea what kinds of questions to ask a successful author. Luckily, he put up with me and actually took the time to write some fantastic answers:
I don’t normally read mysteries, but I thoroughly enjoyed Flipping Out. So OBVIOUSLY I need to get on the stick and read your other books, and I’m thinking there may be, like, a whole genre out there I’ve been stupidly avoiding. What mystery books would you recommend as All-Time Must Reads, even for supposed non-mystery-fans?
Being a girl, you might want to start with Nancy Drew.
Okay, it’s always smart to get the first lame joke out of the way to lower your readers’ expectations.
That’s not an easy question. Mainly because I have no idea what is was about Flipping Out that resonated with you. The three dimensional characters? The page turning drama? The pants wetting humor? The buzz killing sex? The absence of zombies?
Let me fess up to the fact that on the Fraud to Expert Continuum, I’m not the best guy to answer your question. I’m not nearly as well versed in the genre as most of my readers. So I Googled “best mysteries of all time” and guess what? Tons of opinions, and nobody agrees on anything.
My all time favorite is The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. I read it for the first time in 1982, and it’s still selling briskly today.
I’m not big into paranormal, and yet I just read — and loved — Vampyres of Hollywood by Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott. (And yes, they spell Vampyres the good old-fashioned way, just like my Hungarian great-great-grandmother spelled it.) It’s hardly an all-time-must-read, but knowing your penchant for demons of the evening, I’d probably recommend it to you.
Beyond that, the best I can do is give you some authors I’ve enjoyed over the years: Donald Westlake, Robert B. Parker, James Patterson, Jeffery Deaver, Jeffrey Archer, and Michael Connelly come to mind.
I’d say you stumped me on the very first question, but give me some credit for how I weaseled out of it.
I love the main characters in Flipping Out, LAPD detectives Lomax and Biggs. Are they inspired from any real-life people you know, or did they spring Athena-like from the confines of your skull?
Let’s see: Mike Lomax — warm, lovable, sensitive, pays more attention to the little voice in his head than he should, intelligent, intuitive, protective, good in bed — nope, nobody comes to mind.
Terry Biggs — master of the quick comeback, goes for the laugh every chance he gets, loyal adoring husband, devoted father, workaholic, driven by the challenge of starting a new career and rising to the top — nope, I’m drawing a blank on him too.
I guess I just made those guys up.
I also made up Big Jim Lomax, Mike’s well meaning, totally meddling father. Really — he’s completely fictional. Just ask my kids.
An Amazon reviewer wrote that as a gift she read the beginning of Flipping Out to her husband while he “lazed in bed”. Do you find this 1) titillating, 2) flattering, or 3) disturbing?
I was cool with it until you brought it up. I mean “lazed in bed” sounds innocuous. But once you mentioned it, I got to wondering — is there subtext here?
Then on Sunday I had a book signing at the Chester County Book and Music Company in West Chester, PA. The store is a fantastic 34,000 square foot monument to books, music, and film for people of all ages and every imaginable persuasion. It’s a destination — like Disney World, only with a better restaurant.
Anyway, guess who showed up at my book signing? The “lazed in bed” couple. They are very sweet. I think they just enjoy lying down and having someone read to them. Which, of course, I graciously did.
You and I have chatted a bit about zombies. In the upcoming apocalypse of the undead, what do you think your personal chances of survival might be?
I don’t know much about Zombie Criteria. I don’t have a handle on whom they like or don’t like. (If I really cared I’m sure I could look it up on Match.com.) But based on the fact that my brand of non-threatening humor cuts across all races, religions, and life forms, I would imagine I’d fit right in with the undead. At least I hope so, because I’ll bet they’d give me some really ungodly stuff to blog about.
What’s next on your writing plate? Will we be seeing more of Lomax and Biggs?
I am three weeks and a dozen chapters away from finishing the first draft of the next Lomax and Biggs. It won’t be released till May 2010, and I can’t even tell you the working title, so I’m not trying to pimp it here, but I have to say I love it. I love it in a way where I can barely take any credit for it. The characters are now writing the books, and they have gotten so good at it, that if they could type, I’d wind up as a greeter at Wal-Mart. I plan to keep working with those guys for as many books as they’ll keep me on.
But there is one other thing on my plate. Non-fiction. It is based on what happened to me when I was 40 years old. I was a high-paid creative director of a big New York ad agency. Top of the ladder. Top of the food chain. Top of my game. And one day (one night, actually — because I distinctly remember it was after cocktails), I looked in the mirror and said those infamous five words that sooner or later, every single one of us will say to some mirror somewhere:
Is this all there is?
I felt the same way the morning after. And so I began looking for an answer to a few basic questions. How did my 40-year-old self get to where he is? What did I think would make my 60-year-old self so deliriously happy with his life that he had no regrets?
The answers didn’t come fast. But eventually I realized that everything about my life at 40 happened because some 18-year-old kid thought it would be cool for me to be in advertising. Eighteen-year-old Marshall was long gone, but here I was, decades later, still living that dumbass kid’s dream.
Was the 40-year-old Marshall going to follow that kid’s plan for the next 20 or 30 years? I decided that he wouldn’t. The working title for my book is Confronting the Teenager Who Screwed Up Your Life.
This will not be a dry self-help book. It will be hilariously real, because the official formula for being funny is Pain Plus Time Equals Comedy. My own mid-life crises (yes, plural) were painful. But enough time has passed so that I can turn it into belly laughs. I think it’s a book that a lot of people over 39 are going to want.
And I lived it, so I know I can write it.
Douchey question I have to ask: if you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?
Douchey answer I have to give: don’t ask for advice on how to be an author.
However, I can give you some advice on how to be a writer. Put your ass in a chair and write. Write what you know, what you feel, what you want. Don’t ask for permission, and if you must get feedback, trust and rely on a very small cadre of people. Preferably those who know and love you, have some kind of qualifications for giving you constructive feedback, and have nothing to gain if you write the next DaVinci Code.
Let me sum it up: There are a lot of people who can prevent you from becoming an author, but only one person who can stop you from being a writer.
And if you so much as dare to ask me who that one person is, when I come back in the upcoming apocalypse of the undead, I will go directly to your village and haunt your every moment.
:::
So there you have it, if I wasn’t already a fan of his writing I think that interview alone would send me on my one-clicking way to Amazon.
I can definitely recommend Flipping Out, and I’ve been authorized to give away a free, signed copy of the book to one of you lucky blog readers. Just leave me a comment, include your email address, and I’ll randomly pick a winner — oh, let’s say by Monday, May 4.
As for comment fodder, tell me, do you have a favorite book genre? Or one you avoid altogether? For me, my favorites are memoirs and what I guess you’d call general fiction; I tend to avoid mysteries (until now!), romances, and Westerns. How about you?
** Update: comments are now closed, and I’ll be picking the winners soon! **
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Excellent interview! I read just about anything, but always love a good romance.
I typically go for biographies and autobiographies only because they tend to hold my interest the most. I too tend to stay away from mysteries but I’d be willing to give them a try if I was picked as the winner of this book!
I loved your interview with the author, he sounds like a stellar guy, one that I could really see myself reading.
sjones1026(at)hotmail(dot)com
Yay I like books! I actually like mysteries. One I read recently that was interesting was “Crooked Little Vein” by Warren Ellis (down and out PI “hired” by the US govt. to retrieve a very special book and he flails around through a very curious world of bizarre sexual deviation to find it.
My favorite genre might be Slightly Surreal, if that’s a genre. Haruki Murikami, Thomas Pynchon, etc. I can always read boat-bum mysteries too; there is actually some decent stuff there and I don’t even mind the crap half the time.
I was never interested in the whole fantasy/swords and sorcery genre until my sister and her husband (both english professors) introduced me to the total book crack that are the books of George R.R. Martin. He’s got a series, collectively titled A Song of Ice and Fire, that are really, really good and so addictive. And look super cheesy at first glance. I seriously wouldn’t have considered reading these if the recommendation didn’t come from such intelligent book nerds.
You can get much more reasonable-looking paperback copies now, but when they were first published, the covers featured a corny Fabio look-alike riding a horse. They appeared so similar to the horrible romance novels people buy in the drugstore, it was pretty embarrassing to be caught reading these in public. But the writing is great and the stories are super compelling. And it re-introduced me to to a genre I had written off as lame. So…bonus. ;)
Flipping Out sounds very cool…pick me, pick me, pick me!
Hee, you both did a great job with the interview. I enjoyed both sides profusely.
I generally read all encompassing fiction too — especially stuff that’s clever with a dash of dark humor. I like things from non-American authors a lot — Kundera, Lahiri, Tan, Adiga.
I also love well-written children’s books.
I tend to avoid almost all non-fiction because I rarely have the attention span for it. I read news and stuff on the internet, and I thumb through the New Yorker every week, shouldn’t that be enough?
ME ME ME.
Um, I mean, I’d love to win the book. I read mostly mysteries and nonfiction.
Ok, between Beth, Chris and now you (all Bloggers that I “follow”) raving about Marshall, I have GOT to get his books. As far as a particular genre, I don’t have one. One week I will be all about the mindless, brain-numbing, IQ-dropping “Chick Lit”. The next I’ll be on to mysteries and the next some deep, thought provoking novel. I love reading. On a lazy weekend I usually find myself devouring four or five books. And I love it when we’re slow at work, because I get a LOT of reading in there as well!
This guy is hilarious! I think I’m going to have to pick up his books, even though mystery isn’t my first choice.
I like this guy, he’s got a good sense of humor, although clearly he doesn’t understand the first thing about zombies or the coming apocalypse, and he wouldn’t survive long. By the way, if you haven’t already watched these, some good movies to rent that I’ve seen recently include: Zombie Strippers, Quarantine, The Zombie Diaries, Doomsday, and Trailer Park of Terror. Not to mention the hilarious webcomic Dr. McNinja, which heavily features zombies and various other evils.
If I had to pick a book genre that I liked the most, I would say I like thrillers the best. Actually, it’s kind of hard to say. I don’t really know what genre a lot of books fall into. I like horror, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, war novels, and books about conspiracies. I especially like when two or more of those genres can be mixed together. I mean like the DaVinci Code, but was that an action book, or a mystery/conspiracy book, or a historical fiction, or a spy thriller? It had several genres mixed in with a shit ton of real life facts and historical events, and historical speculation, and who the hell knows what genre that would really fall under?
You know what, fuck it. The genre that I read the most often and enjoy the most is not books at all, but blogs. Thanks for getting me hooked Sundry, thanks a lot.
I most certainly don’t need comment fodder for this funny as hell post – Linda, please, I beg you – answer me this (and excuse me if there is some blog post I’ve missed in the previous years on the subject) but what in the hell is your deal with zombies and how in the hell did it come up in such detailed conversation with this author dude in such a way that he felt compelled to mention it in half of his responses?
Sorry, I just realized I said “hell” 3 times in one short post. Probably came off like some crazy psycho. I mean, that’s true, but I didn’t mean to reveal it so accurately in such a short paragraph.
With 2 kids I try and read anything that doesn’t require me to think too much. Total fluff n stuff. All genres that fit into that criteria are welcome! Also, I saw this in a review, thought of you, and am anxiously awaiting my library getting a copy for me to read! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/ref=cm_sw_em_r_title_featured?ie=UTF8&tag=tellafriend-20
I love mystery books! And sex books, but I can’t read those ones at school ;)
Please enter me in the draw, I’m running out of reading material!
so glad to hear you love memoirs, linda, because
WHEN YOU WRITE YOURS
I’ll be the first in line.
He is completely and totally delightful. I might buy his book just b/c he was so cute. I am NOT into mystery. However, I just purchased a Janet Evanovich mystery b/c my friend loves and adores that series and says it is laugh out loud hilarious.
I don’t read mysteries but I think I like him. Also it’s my birthday on May 4th so I think I should win.
hmm, i read whatever my book club tells me to read,I guess I like drama and girly books. I’ll admit to having read quite a few self help books, but I wouldn’t say I enjoy them :)
I, too, enjoy memoirs. Generally the kind about people with lives very different from mine. There’s just something about knowing the person you’re reading about is out there somewhere, living their life.
If you haven’t, read The Glass Castle. Right meow.
I read pretty much whatever I can get my hands on, although this:
I mostly get a few pages in while I’m lying in bed at the end of the day fighting off the impending coma long enough to finish this one chapter
resonates strongly with me, minus the whole baby thing…
But lately the true-science-dead-bodies style of Mary Roach (Stiff) keeps me entertained.
Additionally, I never pass up an opportunity for free stuff.
Generally, I’ll read anything if it’s printed in a language I can read. Looking at my bookshelves, I have everything from Calvin & Hobbes to a submarine technical manual from the 80’s in Russian. If I had to pick to make a Top Three Genre List, it would be 1. Science Fiction 2. History and 3. Dystopian and Cynical novels. Okay, I made that last one up, but I couldn’t think of the correct grouping for books like 1984 and Catch 22. Maybe – Books You Were Forced to Read in High School, But Actually Liked? I dunno.
I read super quickly, so I guess my reading habits haven’t suffered since having children. It kinds sucks, though, because I can blaze through a book in a few hours, and then I’m all like, “WTF do I do now? I have nothing left to read. :(” I don’t really expect to win, but I haven’t really been commenting a lot lately, so I wanted to chime in.
Choose me. I want the book, even though there are no zombies or vampires.
I don’t have many mysteries in my collection, but I will always take a recommendation. I am a big fantasy fan, but more specifically, I am a nut for all Terry Pratchett books. Mmmm…. Discworld. Linda, an author you might like is Neil Gaiman. Fantasy, apocalyptic religious comedy. Yes, he wrote Coraline, but no not all his work is children’s literature. (Although, as kid’s lit goes, you could do a lot worse than the deliciously dark Coraline.
I love to read almost anything, though mystery is not a genre I run toward. BUT this guy sounds smart and hilarious and those are two things I enjoy very much in my writers.
I like to alternate between memoirs and novels. I feel like it keeps me humble and gives me some escapism. Oh, and I also like essay collections for the sheer luxury of dipping in and out.
I am slightly wigging out at seeing West Chester in your post, and I have informed my husband that we need to visit this music-book Disney World ASAP.
I read anything and everything. Currently I have checked out of the library: Tori Spelling’s Mommywood, Malcolm (I forget)’s Outliers, The American Wife, South Beach Diet, Amy Bloom’s Away, The Guernsey Society (Something about potato peels), and I always have some slashers, stalkers, grit lit, David Sedaris, and an insane number of magazines on hand to read when the library stash gets low.
Tell me, how have I missed these books? I read mysteries and fiction all the time – buckets of ’em. I’d love to read one (or all) of Marshall’s books. Also I’ve never referred to an author by his/her first name before, and now I feel kind of creepy stalkerish, so thanks for that new experience! I also enjoy non-fiction that actually teaches me something, and I steer very clear of romance novels. Reading those just makes me feel dirty.
Although by living in France I guess I don’t qualify for the free book thing, being a total book whore I couldn’t resist this chance to comment…
I’ll read pretty much most types of book except sci-fi and “old” books (my degree in French and Spanish literature put me off most non 20th century books).
My favourite genres, however, are thrillers (Cornwell, Connelly, Coben, Child, Kellerman…), comic thrillers (Kinky Friedman, Carl Hiaasen…), chick lit (escapism stuff like Bridget Jones, Sophie Kinsella…) and the Just Plain Weird (Jasper Fforde and Malcolm Pryce, for example, have had me crying laughing). I also like some non fiction, but it has to be funny (Bill Bryson has also had me crying laughing, for example).
Have never read Marshall Karp (in fact, had never even heard of him till I read Beth and Chris’ blogs) but am eager to give Lomax and Biggs a try now…
I never read anymore. I used to read all the time! The internet has done something to my brain, I swear. Like you, I struggle to read a chapter before falling asleep (okay, okay, for me, it’s a paragraph). But, I have two trips coming up, and this book sounds like the perfect thing to take my mind off the fact that I’m going to be smooshed between two strangers for the duration of a cross-country flight. Travel/vacation reading is the best!
Very intriguing! I love mysteries, and I’d love to win the book!
I would love a free book! Even though I’ve never liked mysteries, either, I’m ready & willing to try a good one. I also do not read Westerns & tend to avoid anything that deals with Normal People in the present. Who needs more reality?
My favorite genres, on the other hand: 1.) historic fiction 2.) science fiction/fantasy
I’d love to win the book and someday I will love to read YOUR book.
I really love to read anything, when I can fit it in nowadays. My problem is I stay up all night to finish a book and the kids don’t respect the “let Mommy sleep all day” idea!
The book, and the author both sound intriguing!
I’ve just finished many of the Kathy Reichs books (TV show Bones is based on these…). I tend to pick up many things that catch my fancy, especially science fiction.
“Let me sum it up: There are a lot of people who can prevent you from becoming an author, but only one person who can stop you from being a writer.”
That is one of the best things I’ve ever heard an author/writer say.
I’m really a classics person BUT lately I’ve learned to love everything from chick lit to young adult fiction so I’m all over the board. BTW, Nancy Drew totally rocks.
That was me above. Good old Anonymous.
Thank you so much for this review! Even if I don’t win, I now know what I’m getting my mom for Mother’s Day! So either way, score.
My favorite genre: historical fiction
My least favorite genre: spy fiction (Tom Clancy, etc.)
Oh I love books! And my favorite is definitely crime-murder-mystery. I’m not about the classics or the westerns or the romance. Memoirs bore me sometimes too. I do like the general fiction though to spice up the “murder mystery” general type I choose.
Funny you should mention that, as it was just a week ago that I decided to Draw The Line and refuse to climb into the crib anymore. Which I’ve been doing with great regularity for months.
So at least slightly deranged, but I introduce you to cool people.
You guys should do a radio show.
I read classics. If it was written after 1950, I’ll probably hate it, so it’s best to stay on the safe side with 1899 and before. Am snob.
awesome blog. awesome interview. thanks for the laughs :)
Major book retailers currently list my favorite books as “Fiction: General” Not helpful. My favorite books seem to be about women whether they are starting a family, finding themselves or trying to make sense of the world. I never really even intentionally choose these kinds of books – they just seem to find their way to me.
Unrelated: Please take my name out of the hat for the book. Beth’s sending me her copy.
Fantasy, hands-down. But (yes but!), I must clarify that it’s not the “And yea, he swept her up upon his gleaming white unicorn, slew the mighty Garlagkt with his Lance Of Truthsomeness, and they rode off into the triple-sunset of the planet Stromth” brand of fantasy.
I like well-constructed worlds with strong characters (Dune, Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, for example.)
(Awesome blog tour, by the way. You should do them more often. :) )
I love writers Sherman Alexie and Bill Bryson. The memoir genre is my favorite. I’m under 39, but Confronting the Teenager Who Screwed Up Your Life is a book I would DEFINITELY buy.
I have been so desperately needing something new to read, so thank you. I bundled up my kid, and braved the pouring rain to check it out at the library (they hadn’t even shelved it yet.) I’m excited to get started, which will probably have to wait for bedtime.
I tend to go through moods with what I’m reading. Sometimes mystery, sometimes romance, sometimes I just hit the best seller list on Amazon. My favorite is usually historical mystery with some kind of supernatural…something. Not easy to find, but worth it when I do.
Ummm… I want? And YA fantasy. The latest by Suzanne Collins rocked. Hunger Games. Libba Bray (Brey?). Yes, Ms. Meyers. Melissa Marr. Pretty much everything these days.
I totally have a crush on him now too.
Let’s see, genres. I’m a huge John Irving fan…so I guess I like the kooky fiction. I’ve also been known to read books with high heels on the cover. Don’t delve into mystery much, but I’m intrigued by this one!
I love fiction, mysteries (especially English authors)some Young Adult (just read Mango Shaped Space-so good)and right now am reading the perfect book for you.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.
This is a kick ass book for both the Jane Austen lover, and those who enjoy their zombies.I work at a bookstore, this title is a surprise seller-we can’t keep it in stock.
I just read that the next title by Seth Grahame-Smith is going to be “Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter” AWESOME!
I have just finished The Rabbit Factory and I can’t wait to get my hands on another book with Lomax & Biggs! Those guys are so likable!
“There are a lot of people who can prevent you from becoming an author, but only one person who can stop you from being a writer.”
This is going on a slip of paper in my wallet.
I read all sorts of shit. Love books. Will be picking up Lomax and Biggs, they sound like my type of people.
Oops, I just realized I repeated Heather’s recommendation about the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It sounds like she is waiting for it from her library-but I can tell you-the book is really, really good.
With a 9 month old, my old voracious reading habits have been thrown out the window for much of the last year. I tend to go for the real-life adventure types of books like those by Krakauer…or anything that seems like it could be condensed into a National Geographic article.