Jason Neese's Blog
October 20, 2026
twins and novels
When I started this book I was interested in exploring identity in a very uncomfortable mystery.
Equally as important was bifurcating two worlds and demanding them to merge.
I was like -- what's the other thing that really is curious from my life beside being a twin --
Being raised in the south in the 90s. There we go!
Now, this book isn't really biographical in the way that the disturbing elements of the parents or the bizarre occurrences with Jacob happened to me. In fact, my parents are my best friend and so is Jamie my twin.
BUT -- what I did quickly realize as I started outlining was that this world is so unique it's perfect for a cross-country mystery.
I'd been in hollywood long enough I figured might as well throw a little of that world into it too. But i hadn't been in LA long enough and in script writing mode long enough that my prose was yet affected. So this book became more of a lyrical blend of my love for poetry and the writer's that affected me. Vonnegut, Palahniuk, Brautigan, Ellis...
From all of that a couple years later came The Traveling Audience. I actually gave up on publishing it for a while as my career started heating up on the film/tv side but I always knew this book was something I had to get out there no matter how long it took.
So here we are -- somehow 3 weeks out from launch and me heading out on the road to bookstores and have fun discussing it.
I'll never write another book like this. In fact, my follow up book is a very different tone and lexicon with content that focuses on the fallacy of the "news" called TALK HEAD.
But for now, in future blogs,
I think I'll probably go deeper into the things that really disturbed me in the making of this book and also what it will look like as a film next.
Equally as important was bifurcating two worlds and demanding them to merge.
I was like -- what's the other thing that really is curious from my life beside being a twin --
Being raised in the south in the 90s. There we go!
Now, this book isn't really biographical in the way that the disturbing elements of the parents or the bizarre occurrences with Jacob happened to me. In fact, my parents are my best friend and so is Jamie my twin.
BUT -- what I did quickly realize as I started outlining was that this world is so unique it's perfect for a cross-country mystery.
I'd been in hollywood long enough I figured might as well throw a little of that world into it too. But i hadn't been in LA long enough and in script writing mode long enough that my prose was yet affected. So this book became more of a lyrical blend of my love for poetry and the writer's that affected me. Vonnegut, Palahniuk, Brautigan, Ellis...
From all of that a couple years later came The Traveling Audience. I actually gave up on publishing it for a while as my career started heating up on the film/tv side but I always knew this book was something I had to get out there no matter how long it took.
So here we are -- somehow 3 weeks out from launch and me heading out on the road to bookstores and have fun discussing it.
I'll never write another book like this. In fact, my follow up book is a very different tone and lexicon with content that focuses on the fallacy of the "news" called TALK HEAD.
But for now, in future blogs,
I think I'll probably go deeper into the things that really disturbed me in the making of this book and also what it will look like as a film next.
