Saturday, October 12, 2019

FEATURED AUTHOR: STEVE GROGAN



ABOUT THE BOOK


He was lost, directionless, unable to find his identity. He thought he found it in her, which was good because he was teetering on the edge of madness. She had no way of knowing her actions would push him over it.



This novella is part splatterpunk, part erotica, part psychological study of an unstable mind, told in Steve's highly visual and deeply emotional prose. 

Some stories have protagonists/narrators for which you can feel empathy, or at the very least you can feel sorry for them.



This isn't one of those tales.



This is a story about a young man who makes the mistake of depending on others for a sense of self-worth. It is a dark, disturbing story not meant for the faint of heart. The graphic content makes up only 15% of the prose, but it is some of the most harrowing writing ever committed to page.


Book Details:

Title: Maybe the Dream Knows What is Real

Author: Steve Grogan

Genre: horror


Published: June 24, 2018


Print length: 150 pages








IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH STEVE GROGAN


Ifs



Q: If you could talk to someone (living), who would it be and what would you ask them?
A: Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins. He and I had very similar lives, which is why I connect with their music so much. I would talk to him about those things, as well as issues like self-esteem and mental health.

Q: If you could talk to someone (dead), who would it be and what would you ask them?
A: Kurt Cobain. Since he committed suicide, I’d talk to him about mental health too, but maybe I’d be subtle about it. Basically, I would try to talk him out of making the decision that he made.

Q: If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
A: Full-time martial arts instructor, doing seminars around the world
.

Q: If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
A: Thomas Pynchon. I would like to talk about his writing process. His books are so layered that I wonder how he plans them.

Q: If you could choose a fictional town to live in what would it be and from what book?
A: Castle Rock from many Stephen King books. For being a somewhat small town, a lot of interesting things happen there!



Ands


5 things you love about writing:
    •    creating new worlds
    •    exploring ideas
    •    writing things that move people
    •    painting a picture with words
and
    •    escaping from reality

5 things you love about where you live: 
    •    quiet
    •    it’s my childhood neighborhood
    •    I know my way around
    •    I love the historical architecture
and
    •    since my house has been in my family for decades, there is no mortgage!

5 favorite books:  
    •    A Scanner Darkly
    •    Gravity’s Rainbow
    •    Imajica
    •    Money

and
    •    Naked Lunch

5 favorite authors:
    •    Thomas Pynchon
    •    Phillip K. Dick
    •    William S. Burroughs
    •    Henry Miller
and
    •    Martin Amis

5 people you consider as heroes:
    •    Bruce Lee
    •    Billy Corgan
    •    Thomas Pynchon
    •    Tony Horton
and
    •    my girlfriend

Whats


Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie?
A: A tough one, but I’ll go with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite author?
A: Thomas Pynchon.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite city?
A: New York City. For an artsy person like me, there is so much more there than where I currently live.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite library?
A: Albany Public Library.

Q: What’s your favorite song?
A: “Cherub Rock” by the Smashing Pumpkins. It inspired me to learn guitar.

Q: What’s your favorite beverage?
A: Arizona Diet Green Tea.

Q: What’s your favorite quote?
A: “Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him.” (Thomas Carlyle)

Q: What’s your favorite movie snack?

A: Sweet Tart makes these things now that are like Red Vines, except of course they make your face pucker.

Q: What movie genre do you prefer?
A: Horror.


Q: What book are you currently working on?
A: A guide to help people build a piece of martial art training equipment called a wooden dummy. My guide is unique in that most wooden dummies have to be mounted on these huge, space-gobbling frames, but I show them how to build a freestanding version. It’s also meant to help them save money because buying a professionally made one can cost you easily $1,000 or more.

Q: What’s your latest recommendation for:
    •    Food: Lemon Butter Chicken
    •    Music: Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, the Tragically Hip
    •    Movie: It (2017 version)
    •    Book: Imajica
    •    Netflix/Amazon Prime: Stranger Things



OTHER BOOKS BY STEVE GROGAN


The Size Curse

The Lone Warrior: A Guide to Home-Based Wing Chun Training

How to Teach Wing Chun

The Search for the Warrior’s Path





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Grogan was born in the often-filmed city of Troy, New York. He started writing as far back as second grade. He has written in a variety of formats (novels, short stories, poems, screen and stage plays, blogs/articles) and genres (horror, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, drama). He has had several stories, articles, and poems published in print and online.

Steve is also a father, a boyfriend, a musician, a fitness fanatic, and a martial artist. He has been studying Wing Chun Kung Fu since 1995, and he maintains a blog/YouTube channel that describe his training habits, epiphanies, and advancement. It also candidly discusses his stumbling blocks, such as his struggle with nutrition and mental health issues.

He is no relation to the New England Patriots quarterback from the 1980’s.


Connect with Steve:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

Buy links:
Amazon