The Kicker: New Novel

 Denver, CO

THE KICKER is now available in paperback and a Kindle ebook.

I began the first draft of THE KICKER at the end of 2020. I sat on it for a few years before revisiting it last spring, when I finally had time to write a second draft. I reworked that draft earlier this year, and now it's complete. It's crazy to think that I wrote and published two other novels since I began this project, but this was a story that I had to tell eventually.

And yes, it's my first gambling-themed book in 15 years. Can't believe it's been that long since Lost Vegas was published.

Here's the description of THE KICKER:

Former college football kicker Chilly Waters thought his playing days were far behind him. But when his friends challenge him to a bet to kick a field goal in a snowstorm, a video of the moment goes viral, changing Chilly's life forever. Almost overnight, the 42 year-old single father goes from running a pest control company to kicking for the Colorado Blizzard, his hometown professional football team. However, when Chilly and his teammates are approached by criminal entities to fix games, he's sucked into the dirty underbelly of sports gambling and forced to make a monumental decision.

Buy your copy today here.

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I recorded a brief podcast with change100 who interviewed me about the new novel. It's a glimpse behind the scenes and we discuss the long journey I took to bring this from a first draft to its final form.

THE KICKER is now available as a Kindle ebook and in paperback!

The Kicker: FAQs

 Denver, CO

 

Here's answers to frequently asked questions that you might have about the new novel with a quickie Q & A and FAQ about THE KICKER...

Q. What is THE KICKER about?

A. Here's the tagline:

Former college football kicker Chilly Waters thought his playing days were far behind him. But when his friends challenge him to a bet to kick a field goal in a snowstorm, a video of the moment goes viral, changing Chilly's life forever. Almost overnight, the 42 year-old single father goes from running a pest control company to kicking for the Colorado Blizzard, his hometown professional football team. However, when Chilly and his teammates are approached by criminal entities to fix games, he's sucked into the dirty underbelly of sports gambling and forced to make a monumental decision.

Here's my elevator pitch: What happens when a 40-something single father and rookie kicker is approached by criminals to fix a football game?

Q. What is THE KICKER really about?

A. It's a novel that explores proliferation of legalized sports betting and the underbelly of gambling world. Like my previous three novels, THE KICKER also delves into celebrity culture.

My most recent novels have a similar theme with creatives being crushed by the gears of capitalism. The characters are vying for survival while they're stuck in the crossroad of art and commerce, whether it was the music industry (FRIED PEACHES), the 1990s NYC art scene (GUARD THIS), or on the fringes of Hollywood (FADED).

With THE KICKER, I wanted to focus on the impact of a monumental collision between professional sports and the gambling world.

Q. Is the GIL supposed to be the NFL, or a different pro league?

A. I did not want to worry about getting sued by the NFL, so I changed the league to the GIL. It's essentially my version of the NFL. By changing the name of the league and teams, it provided more creative freedom and flexibility. Figuring out team names might've been my favorite part of the project and research.

Instead of the Denver Broncos, the main team is called the Colorado Blizzard. They play in the Mountain Division which also includes the Kansas Twisters, Salt Lake City Angels, and the Albuquerque Aztecs.

Q. What's different between your GIL and the NFL?

A. The GIL is regional based with an Eastern and Western Conference instead of the AFC/NFC. There's only one team in major markets like NYC and LA, which allowed me to add teams to cities that do not have a pro football team or any major sports franchise like El Paso or Louisville. I also made sure Oakland has a team after both the Raiders and A's abandoned the city.

There's also a 16-game season (instead of 17 now in the NFL), and I do not recognize the NFL's new kickoff rule.

 

Q. Where does THE KICKER take place?

A. Denver, Colorado is the primary location. FADED was my LA novel. New York City, especially NYC in the mid-90s, is where GUARD THIS took place. FRIED PEACHES is considered a road book because every chapter covered a different city while the band was on a tour. Obviously, I wrote about Las Vegas in LOST VEGAS.

Q. How long did it take to write this novel?

A. I began the first draft at the end of 2020, but there was a 3+ year gap before I tackled a second draft. I worked on draft #2 in March/April of 2024 and wrote subsequent drafts in Jan/Feb of 2025. In all, I probably spent six total months writing THE KICKER but it was spread out over 52 months.

Q. Did you really write four other manuscripts between the first draft and final draft of THE KICKER?

A. Yes. Two were published including GUARD THIS and FADED. Two others are unpublished, which are either highly personal (DEBASER) or experimental sci-fi (2088), and I have no intentions to publish either at this moment.

After finishing the first draft of THE KICKER, I had spent three months in early 2021 in research mode (aka reading football books and watching films). However, after rereading the original draft in March 2021, I realized I did not set aside enough time to write the second draft. I had scheduled two weeks off from work, but needed a much bigger block of uninterrupted time. Since I had set aside a two-week writing session, I did not want to squander the opportunity. I needed to come up with something that I could write quickly and decided to experiment with a novelized memoir, or auto-fiction. That's how GUARD THIS was born.

FADED was another project that materialized quickly in the summer of 2023. Once we published FADED in early 2024, I set aside an unlimited amount of time to delve into the second draft of THE KICKER. I let the second draft marinate on a shelf for nine months before revisiting THE KICKER at the start of 2025.

Q. Is THE KICKER linked with your other novels its own literary universe?

A. Yes. Two characters are brothers including Mingus Christmas from FADED and Julius Christmas from THE KICKER. If you like Easter egss, you can find references to other novels including FRIED PEACHES, GUARD THIS, and even JACK TRIPPER STOLE MY DOG. I also figured out a way to link an unpublished manuscript just in case DEBASER gets published one day. 2088 is a sci-fi novel that takes place 60 years from now, but I'm sure if I'll figure out a way to link it with the other novels if I ever decide to revisit it.

Q. Did you read any books to research THE KICKER?

A. Yes, I had read EIGHT MEN OUT a month prior to writing the first draft, so the Chicago Blacksox scandal was initially on my mind. I enjoyed a few memoirs from Eric Dickerson, Brett Favre, and Nate Jackson. Also, Jeff Pearlman's book on Bo Jackson resonated deeply with me. 

Q. Are you really going to pitch THE KICKER as a film or series?

A. That would be the next step, especially for what I've been told is my most commercial novel. Stay tuned!

Q. Are you working on any new novels?

A. At the present time... no. The screenplay is my primary project until inspiration strikes.

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If you have any other questions, please ask them in the comments or contact me. I'll be happy to update this section to include your questions and my answers.

If you enjoy this Q&A format, then check out other ones I did for previous novels including FADED FAQs and FRIED PEACHES FAQs. 

THE KICKER is now available in paperback and as an e-book.

Faded: New Novel

Denver, CO 

FADED is now available.

I cranked out a new novel in the summer of 2023 and edited it in January 2024. FADED is the first book that I wrote, edited, and published via the new house in Denver.

Here's the book description:

Jackson McCool is the son of a prominent Beverly Hills psychiatrist, and for three years has quietly impersonated his now-ailing father in his medical and therapeutic practice. His success in this ruse is largely in thanks to his eccentric roster of self-absorbed patients, denizens of the entertainment industry who crave nothing more than a loose prescription pad and someone to listen to their complaints.

While providing an empathetic ear to Hollywood types, Jackson is also slinging (and ingesting) painkillers with his best friend, retired pro football player Mingus Christmas, as well as providing counsel at all hours to Westley Bolinger, the front man of a globally touring emo band. However, when suspicions arise and nefarious outside forces aim to expose him, Jackson must not only prevent his house of cards from falling but reckon with his own reasons for wanting to keep this charade alive.

A story about the ebbs and flows of fame on the fringes of Hollywood, FADED makes us question impermanence, ephemera, and celebrity culture.

FADED is currently available as a paperback and ebook (for those Kindle fans).

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And here's a brief podcast with change100 about FADED including some behind the scenes info and Easter eggs.

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My recent novels have an accompanying soundtrack which I curated via Spotify playlists. Once again, I created character-specific playlists (similar to GUARD THIS mixtapes). FADED has three playlists... if a character made a mixtape or playlist, what do they listen to?

Jackson McCool: The protagonist who wrote two books on music history/criticism. His playlist includes... Sly and the Family Stone, Steely Dan, Curtis Mayfield, Wilco, New York Dolls, David Bowie, Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Phish, Beck, LCD Soundsystem, Tribe Called Quest, Chicago, Circle Jerks, Tom Petty, Edgar Winter, Doobie Brothers.

Ophelia McCool: TV producer and actress who is married to Jackson. Her playlist includes... Jungle, Parcels,Neal Frances, Grizzly Bear, The National, St Vincent, Hole, LCD Soundsystem, Fiona Apple, Phoenix, FLeetwood Mac, Wild Belle, Arcade Fire, The Smile, Mazzy Star, Dua Lipa, Nuetral Milk Hotel, Brittany Howard, Muse, Dandy Warhols, Concrete Blonde, Khruangbin, The Go-Go's.

Mingus Christmas: Former pro football player who breeds exotic cats and Jackson's best friend. His playlist is hip-hop heavy and includes... Sugar Hill Gang, Pharcyde, Warren G, Ice Cube, 2 Pac, Al Green, Cypress Hill, ODB, Run DMC, Snoop, Dr Dre, NWA, Fun Lovin' Criminals, DJ Khaled, Kuris Blow,  Donny Hathaway, Biz Markie, Too $hort.

FADED is currently available as a paperback and Kindle.

Faded: FAQs

Denver, CO 

Here's some answers to frequently asked questions that you might have about the new novel. Time for a quickie Q & A and FAQ about FADED....

Q. Is FADED your LA novel? 

A. FADED takes place in LA on the fringes of Hollywood. We spent a decade in LA (2012-22) after a short stint in San Francisco. We moved to Colorado in the summer of 2022 and I wrote this last summer. After spending one year away, the timing was ideal because LA was still somewhat fresh in my mind and my perspective began to shift a bit.

Q. FADED is a comedy and satire?

A. Yes. FADED is a a nod to Billy Wilder films, but the tone is a throwback to some of my favorite comedies from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jackson McCool, the protagonist in FADED, is a mix of Bill Murray's film characters (Stripes, Meatballs) plus bit of Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller, WarGames) and Chevy Chase (Fletch). There's a sliver of Bruce Willis during a short time he was a budding TV star (Moonlighting) before he became a movie star.

Q. One of your characters played pro football, but I don't recognize the team names. Why?

A. Mingus Christmas played linebacker for the Miami Sharks. In my literary universe, the major pro football league is known as GIL or the Grid Iron League. I wanted to avoid any potential legal entanglements with the NFL, which is why the GIL is the stand in from the NFL in both FADED and THE KICKER. The local pro football team in FADED is known as the LA Demons.

Q. I thought you wrote two manuscripts last summer? What happened to the other one?

A. Yes, that's true. I wrote a memoir -- DEBASER (tentative title) -- which takes place in NYC in 1989. It's based on the summer before my senior year in high school. You're only 16 once, and that summer before I turned 17 was a pivotal time. I wrote DEBASER fairly quickly (in less than 3 weeks) in June 2023 after spending nearly six months in NYC helping out with a family illness. The subject matter is a little too personal and I doubt it will get published. I wrote for myself to help make sense of an intense stint in NYC while I stayed in my childhood bedroom for several months. I might revisit it sometime down the line.

Q. So, FADED is the second manuscript you wrote last summer?

A. Yes. I began it in July 2023 and completed the first draft in early August. I tend to write very fast, but edit very slow. FADED took around three weeks to complete the first draft. I completed subsequent drafts in January 2024.

Q. Are all your novels linked in its own literary universe?

A. Yes. In an homage to Kevin Smith's cinematic universe, there are direct references to characters in previous published novels including FRIED PEACHES, GUARD THIS, and JACK TRIPPER STOLE MY DOG. There's also character connections to two unpublished manuscripts for THE KICKER and DEBASER. I also incorporate the fictional world of other authors including Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Donna Tartt, and Bret Easton Ellis.

Q. What's up with the eye patch? Did you really write FADED with one eye?

A. The rumors are true. I have been experiencing vision problems in my left eye since the summer of 2022. We had a setback in July 2023, and I was sidelined for two weeks when I went blind in my left eye. I wore an eye patch during that time and started FADED. I wrote one chapter per day mostly to keep myself sane and laugh with the characters. As my vision improved, I quickly finished the first draft before a potential surgical date. I essentially wrote FADED because I freaked out that the vision loss would be permanent, and to address the anxiety over the question -- what if surgery doesn't work?

Q. What's up with THE KICKER?

A. It's still marinating. I hope to take another crack at sometime in 2024. I wrote the first draft at the end of 2020. I set aside time to work on a rewrite in April 2021, but I had too many things I wanted to change yet didn't have enough time to pull off a proper rewrite in the time I had allotted. That's why I pivoted and cranked out GUARD THIS instead. I wanted to work on the new draft of THE KICKER in the summer of 2022 when first moved to Colorado, but it got sidetracked when my vision issues began. I planned to work on it in January 2023, but then I had to move back to NYC to help my brother and mother. 

Q. Were you listening to a lot of audiobooks before/during FADED?

A. I was sidelined for two weeks in July with vision problems, and spent that time in total darkness while holed up in our guest bedroom because it's the darkness room in the house. I listened to a dozen audiobooks to keep sane because it was difficult to watch/stream with one eye. I devoured audiobooks and consumed like two per day, so I revisited Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. The book is over 1,000 pages and the audiobook clocked in at 55 hours. I started/stopped reading the massive tome multiple times in the 1990s. When I finally conquered it, I has spread it out over several months. I listened to the Infinite Jest audiobook at 1.5x speed and it took me a week or so. There's one character in FADED who is a former tennis prodigy, which is my homage to DFW.

I consumed other audiobooks during this stretch that influenced FADED because it was fresh in my mind.

• Blue Movie by Terry Southern
• Pappyland by Wright Thompson
• The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
• Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's 'Nebraska' Album by Warren Zanes
• Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir by Sly Stone

 Q. What were some of your other inspirations behind FADED?

A. I listened to the first seven Steely Dan albums (recorded/released between 1972-80) while writing the first draft and it was in heavy rotation during the rewrites.

I revisited two books including Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem and Heat 2 by Michael Mann. 

I also had three books about Hollywood on my mind. Hello, He Lied & Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches was written by Lynda Obst who produced some big films in the 1980s-90s. I was also heavily inspired by The Devil's Candy by Julie Salamon, which chronicled the insanity behind the film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's novel The Bonfire of the Vanities. Lastly, there's The Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West about Hollywood in the 1930s.

Jon Favreau hosted Dinner for Five on IFC back in the early 2000s. During the show, he ate a meal with four guests who shared funny and strange stories about working in Hollywood. Many of those throwaway stories were an inspiration for this book. 

I love a good show biz story, and the odder the better. I attempted to fictionalize a few I heard over the years. Wil Wheaton told me a few bizarre stories, and Kevin Smith often shared hysterical stories during his Q&As with his legion of fans.

I was not even an hour into watching Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood when I made a decision to write an LA novel sooner than later.

All of Noah Baumbach films, especially Greenberg, were on my mind during the first draft. 

Paul Thomas Anderson flicks especially his ones set in LA were an inspiration. PTA is heavily influenced by Robert Altman, and his films were a creative beacon. 

Richard Linklater,Whit Stillman, Kelly Reinhardt, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, and Jim Jarmusch are all excellent filmmakers and their work has always been a massive influence on me.

Damien Chazelle's film Babylon -- about the rough transition from silent films to talking films -- was also an inspiration.Hollywood just survived multiple guild strikes and in the era of streaming wars and the rise of AI, so it felt compelling to write a story about this transition phase almost a century after silent films gave way to talkies.

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FADED is available in paperback and as an ebook for Kindle devices.

Guard This: Now Available in Paperback, Plus Mixes

 Los Angeles, CA

Thanks for waiting three plus months for the paperback release of Guard This. Yes, the print version is finally here after Guard This debuted as an ebook on Christmas Eve. I appreciate everyone who bought the ebook, especially those of you who read it! If you're a Luddite and were waiting for the paperback version, then here's your chance to get your own physical copy.

What is Guard This? It's a novelized memoir that takes place in NYC in 1994-95.

Here's the book description:

Guard This depicts New York City's art community during the last vestiges of gritty Gotham in the 1990s. Tenzin McGrupp takes a security job at the most famous art museum in the world while he saves up money for film school. He's welcomed into an enclave of painters, musicians, photographers, nonconformists, and freaks that hold day jobs as museum guards to fund their late-night creative endeavors and drug-addled antics. The guards are defiant artists at the dawn of the new millennium before every nook of the City is gobbled up by corporations and transformed into a capitalist theme park.

All of my other books are available as paperbacks or ebooks: Fried Peaches, Lost Vegas, or Jack Tripper Stole My Dog.

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I curated different musical playlists to help market the new novel. You can listen to any of them in the background while reading Guard This, or listen to it before you crack open the book to help set the mood. Some of these Guard This mixes are great stand-alone playlists that many friends crank up for their morning commute or pre-party situations.

There's a trio of playlists that represent the soundtrack for Guard This if it were to ever become a film or limited TV series. In creating those initial playlists, I tried to use only music that was released prior to 1995, or stuff that I actually listened to 27 years ago.

Guard This 1.0 (aka Act 1)... Talking Heads, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz, Black Crowes, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Tribe Called Quest, Soundgarden, Phish, Blind Melon, Stone Temple Pilots, Wu-Tang Clan

Guard This 2.0 (aka Act 2)... INXS, Jimi Hendriz, David Bowie, Warren Zevon, Jungle Brothers, Primal Scream, Tom Petty, Blur, Sonny Rollins, Beck, Morphine

Guard This 3.0 (aka Act 3)... Elliot Smith, Drivin N Cryin, Bill Evans, Luna, Tom Waits, Gomez, Television, Steely Dan, Mazzy Star, Funkadelic, Ween, Widespread Panic, Velvet Underground

I also curated character mixes, or mixtapes that each character from Guard This would make if you gave them a blank tape in 1995. Yes, these are the names of some of the main characters and you can catch a glimpse into their headspace by listening to their mixtapes and music that they had access to in 1995. Hey, I did not really make these... the characters crafted each mixtape themselves.

Tenzin McGrupp... Maceo Parker, Bob Dylan, REM, NWA, Traffic, Grateful Dead, Curtis Mayfield, Dandy Warhols, Allman Brothers, Phish, Mojo Nixon, Shuggie Otis, Supertramp

Izabella... Digable Planets, Los Amigos Invisibles, Brick, Fugees, The Cure, Sly & the Family Stone, Queen Latifah, Arrested Development, The Breeders, Belly, D'Aneglo, Luscious Jackson, Liz Phair, Mary J Blige, Pulp, Dee Lite

Cube... Jaco Pastorious, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Doobie Brothers, David Bowie, The Pixies, Stone Roses, The Cars, Phil Collins, Captain Beefheart, Roxy, Jan Hammer, The Beatles, ELO, Big Audio Dynamite, Beastie Boys, Beck

Jazzman... Kenny Burrell, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Lee Morgan, Willie Bobo, Billie Holiday

Zelia... Air, Giorgio Moroder, Serge Gainsbourg, Jacqus Dutronc, Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones, Johnny Hallday, Les Merseys, Charlotte Leslie, Portishead, The Wailers, L'Imperatrice, Daft Punk, Garbage, Michel Sardou, 10,000 Maniacs

Rabbi Hoffman... Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia Band

Now that Guard This is out in a physical and digital form, it's time to get back to work on the second draft of The Kicker.

Guard This: New Novel

 Los Angeles, CA

 

Guard This is my third novel and fourth overall book that I wrote and published since 2010. Guard This is now available as an e-book. Stay tuned for information on a print version and paperback, which is due out in early 2022.

What is Guard This?

Here's the book description:

Guard This depicts New York City's art community during the last vestiges of gritty Gotham in the 1990s. Tenzin McGrupp takes a security job at the most famous art museum in the world while he saves up money for film school. He's welcomed into an enclave of painters, musicians, photographers, nonconformists, and freaks that hold day jobs as museum guards to fund their late-night creative endeavors and drug-addled antics. The guards are defiant artists at the dawn of the new millennium before every nook of the City is gobbled up by corporations and transformed into a capitalist theme park.

Guard This is a project that I started over 25 years ago. It had so many variations and formats that it's hard to keep up. It started out as a screenplay. Then a comic book. Then a novel. Then a stage play. Back to a novel. Then a series of short stories. Back to a screenplay. Then a limited series. Flirted with an animated series. And now, back to a novel.

The current novel version of Guard This came together quickly and almost by accident. In April of 2021, I blocked out a couple of weeks to work on rewriting a second draft of a project called The Kicker, which I penned at the end of 2020. After sitting on a shelf for the customary 90 days, I read The Kicker for the first time in three months and realized I did not have enough time to fix all the problems and rewrite a second draft. I still set aside two weeks without anything to work on, so I decided to give Guard This another pass. It had been 18 years since I last told a version of this story, but was surprised ho quickly the first draft of a the new novel wrote itself.

It took me five years to write Lost Vegas. Took me another five to work on Fried Peaches. It might take me five years to finish The Kicker. But, I didn't have five years to work on Guard This. Call it laziness, or just PTSD from the pandemic, but I didn't have the patience to hold this story back. I'm starting a major project in 2022 and just don't have the time to devote to a prolonged process of re-writing and editing and re-writing Guard This. I convinced myself to put out a less than desirable version of it out now, than let it grind away at my insomnia until 2025. Instead of five years, I gave this project less than five months time from start to finish.

Guard This will eventually become a paperback version in the Spring of 2022. For now, it's an e-book while I accumulate all the typos and errors that I missed to rush this version out before Christmas. I'll thank you in advance when you catch something. As soon as I successfully crowdsource all those typos, I'll convert Guard This to a print version in a couple of months. I promise that it won't take three years in between e-book > print conversion like what happened with Fried Peaches, which finally became a paperback in October 2021.

I appreciate your assistance, support, and understanding. You can purchase your e-book of Guard This here. You do not have to own a Kindle to read it. Your phone or tablet has a Kindle app that makes it easy to read. If you're a Luddite and detest e-books or Kindles, then grab one of my other paperbacks: Fried Peaches, Lost Vegas, or Jack Tripper Stole My Dog.