Pete Conrad's Blog

A quick note about my style. I use a lot of em dashes. I also refuse (my editor's word) to capitalize the first letter in quotes if it isn't the first letter in a sentence.

Like this:

"I dunno," Pete said, "this is just my style. Suck it if you don't approve."

I do that because I like the way it looks. The way James Joyce used em dashes or didn't use quotes. It's a choice. I don't care about MLA, APA, or whatever style guide there is.

So please - if you leave a review - those aren't typos - those are choices.

Deuce out!

In an earlier post, I commented on how important music is to me. Music has a large influence on my writing. To highlight this, my editor, Erika, created a Spotify playlist of many of the songs that I've somehow referenced in The Suicide Flowers, The Arbiters, and Going Home. Check it out below, play it, and let me know how the playlist makes you feel.



http://play.spotify.com/user/oddcoupl...

In an earlier post, I commented on how important music is to me. Music has a large influence on my writing. To highlight this, my editor, Erika , created a Spotify playlist of many of the songs that I've somehow referenced in The Suicide Flowers, The Arbiters, and Going Home. Check it out below, play it, and let me know how the playlist makes you feel.
Inside Reality - the Music of Pete Conrad's Novels

My father died twenty-four years ago today. I was twenty-three years old. Really, still just a punk trying to find my way in this world. I'm still lost. My father was a highly-skilled smoker - one of those professionals who inhale the smoke with great proficiency and adoration. He was only forty-nine when he died. He had this uncontrollable smoker's cough that would possess his whole body when it came - he'd choke and cough so violently that strangers would think he was dying right there befo...

I find a lot of inspiration in music. Sometimes I'll hear a phrase or a word in a song and it will inspire me to use it in my own work. I'll give you an example. This Damien Rice song is a beautiful love song. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I especially like the line, "there's still a little bit of your song in my ear." What a fabulous line. I'm going to use that idea...

View more on Pete Conrad's website...

I find a lot of inspiration in music. Sometimes I'll hear a phrase or a word in a song and it will inspire me to use it in my own work. I'll give you an example. This Damien Rice song is a beautiful love song. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I especially like the line, "there's still a little bit of your song in my ear." What a fabulous line. I'm going to use that idea, except I'm going to turn it around so that one of my characters, "put a little song into her ears." Look for it...

This book changed my life.



I was introduced to Quo Vadis? by my dear friend and bibliophile, Charles. I will never understand literature the way he does. His criticism of literature goes far beyond the surface, plot points, and themes. Charles is my literary hero. He loaned me his copy of Quo Vadis? some ten years ago while we were researching The Franklin Sex Scandal. The idea was to retell Quo Vadis? using themes and events culled from TFSS. What came to fruition was my third book, The Arbiter's Nephew. Well- conceived, poorly executed, it was the first book I had ever adapted.I simply wasn't ready to write the book. Some ten years later, I have embarked on a full rewrite of The Arbiter's Nephew...


Read more on Pete Conrad's website

This book changed my life.
I was introduced to Quo Vadis? by my dear friend and bibliophile, Charles. I will never understand literature the way he does. His criticism of literature goes far beyond the surface, plot points, and themes. Charles is my literary hero. He loaned me his copy of Quo Vadis? some ten years ago while we were researching The Franklin Sex Scandal. The idea was to retell Quo Vadis? using themes and events culled from TFSS. What came to fruition was my third book, Th...

I wanted to share with you the latest review I received on The Suicide Flowers. It's an important review. You see, it's from my wife, Michelle. Amazon would not allow her to post this review because we "are related." What bullshit is that? Does Amazon believe that friends and family members are unable to write an unbiased review? And so what if reviews by friends and family members are biased? Has Amazon ever heard of Yelp? Good reviews sell product. Period.

This review, by my wife, is importa...