FAQ
1. Who is the cover photograph of?
Those feet belong to Dave and Serge Bielanko of Marah, and was taken at a house party show in northern New Jersey back in 2005. It’s actually on the back cover of one of their albums (uncredited, since I missed their manager asking, “Who took this photo??” on the message board). It’s always been one of my favorites that I’ve taken, and I thought it was the kind of photo that would be interesting to the kind of person I think will love this book.
I also thought about using this photo as the cover. Who knows, it might be the cover of a future book.
2. Who is [Jake, Mark, Christine, X, Y, Z] really. I know who they are, they’re….
You are right and you are wrong. All the characters in the book are just that – characters. Like any writer, I based little bits and pieces of them on people that I met or knew or know, but this isn’t thinly-veiled memoir – it’s fiction.
I originally wanted to put the subtitle THIS IS NOT A TRUE STORY on the cover, but it would have been too much. (Instead, I’m using it in the advertising.)
I took great care to make sure that relevant dates and facts and events were presented accurately, because it used to drive me nuts when I’d read music-related writing and people would get things wrong (and I probably got something wrong, in which case I will plead artistic license). But the people are fictional from top to bottom. If you think you see yourself or someone you know, or can identify so strongly with a feeling or a situation – well, thanks, I’ve done a good job telling a story.
3. Why do you hate Dave Matthews so much? He is a great musician / nice person / my next door neighbor??!!!
While I will point out that, again, this is a novel and not a memoir, it is true that I personally am not a fan of the music of the Dave Matthews Band. I think that Dave himself is (by all accounts) a nice person, a good citizen, and treats his fans like gold. It’s just not my cup of tea. I hope that people will realize that, again, this is a novel, and not meant to be a personal value judgement. When I grew up, rock and roll did polarize and invigorate and people took absolute sides in how they felt about bands.
4. Why can’t I leave a comment?
This is a website for the book, and not a blog. My blog, jukeboxgraduate.com, is the place where comments are invited and welcomed.
5. I want to interview you / invite you to our book club / ask you a question / offer you a gazillion dollars for movie rights.
The contact address for business/book related inquiries is editor at tillvictorypress dot com (remove words, change to symbols), or you can find me on Twitter at @carynrose.
