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Peter Derk has read 187 of 4200 books.

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Peter Derk

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

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https://linktr.ee/helpfulsnowman

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helpfulsnowman

Member Since

February 2009

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Peter Derk doesn't understand why they've never sold a Twix called "Twick" that's just one long bar made of the two bars mashed together. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

From Yahoo Answers: I keep getting rejected from women, should i just become a homosexual? I know its a sin and ill burn in hell forever. Im just tired of it. So should i become gay and be happy, or deal with fustration from constant rejection from women? I dont think the fustration is worth it.

Peter Derk Can I tell you a story about this?

The first time I was in a gay bar was because of an incident where a friend's car got towed. We walked a ways to mee…moreCan I tell you a story about this?

The first time I was in a gay bar was because of an incident where a friend's car got towed. We walked a ways to meet another friend, a gay guy and his partner, who were going to help us out. They were in a gay bar, and they insisted we have a drink with them first before we got down to business. By which I mean "get a ride home." By which I mean get in a vehicle and drive it...let's just keep going with the story.

I walked in, we had a drink, and I left. And you know what? Nobody hit on me. Nobody talked to me. It was almost like -gasp- pretty much a normal bar.

Now, I fully expected that guys would love me. Because ladies were kind of ho-hum about me, so I figured that meant dudes would be all about it. Because a gay guy is the opposite of a girl, right?

Nope. Turns out, nope, not at all. In fact, a gay gentleman's proclivities really don't have much to do with a woman's. It's kind of like it's own whole thing. Actually, I'll revise that. It's exactly like it's own whole thing.

This was a lesson learned when I was maybe 21. So a little old, but what can I say, I grew up podunk.

So while turning to gay men might seem like an alternative, flipping the switch from OFF to ON, it doesn't really work that way.

Here's my advice to you and really the advice I would give to any young person who is having this sort of problem: Pursue an interest that's NOT having a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Get interested in something. Get a hobby. Seriously. This is the best thing you can do for yourself, and it's going to make your future relationships much richer.

For one thing, you'll become a better, deeper, more interesting person.

For another, if your hobby is pursuing romance, then once you have romance, what then? What do you have left at that point?

Get a hobby. I would possibly suggest some sort of queer studies classes in your particular case. Or model rocketry. (less)

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Hi! I just finished and greatly enjoyed "Dear Runaway". Why did you choose that particular letter as the title of your book? Did you workshop other letters-as-titles, and why didn't the others work for you? Did you at any point consider naming your book something outside of the text of the book entirely? Thanks for your time.

Peter Derk AH! A real question! Gasp. Hyperventilate.

Okay, stay calm, Pete. Don't blow it.

Ahem.

First, thanks for reading my book. And thanks for enjoying that. …moreAH! A real question! Gasp. Hyperventilate.

Okay, stay calm, Pete. Don't blow it.

Ahem.

First, thanks for reading my book. And thanks for enjoying that. Although maybe you should be thanking ME for you enjoying it (stop it, Pete. You're blowing it!).

For a very long time, the project that became this book was a blog called Pete's Unsent Love Letters. And for a long time, that was the title of the book. I did get some advice in the form of a question from another writer I really like, and she asked me if I'd considered naming it after one of the letters, "Something like Dear Runaway."

I liked the idea a lot. See, I tried to get this thing published by a publisher. Like 20+ times. Trying to get something published is the worst. It's like job interviewing except you ACTUALLY CARE A LOT. And you can't console yourself by saying, "They probably just gave the job to the boss' cousin or something." Although I bet a lot of cousins of heads of publishing houses have novels in boxes in storage lockers in NYC.

I wasn't getting any bites, so I thought maybe my friend was right, and maybe I should try a change of title.

I looked at some of the other letters, but that's the thing about titles: when someone suggests one, it rolls around in your head for long enough that nothing else really sounds right.

So, that's how it ended up the way it ended up. Good advice from a good writer and a good friend. Or, to look at it another way, collapsing under peer pressure when I was vulnerable and at an emotional low.

I do think it helped with questions about what was fiction and what wasn't. When you put your name in the title, you can't really be annoyed that people keep asking about the truths and fictions of the letters.(less)

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Combine Editions
Peter Derk’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 129 ratings · 67 reviews · 23 distinct works • Similar authors

	Pete's Exhaustive Review of Modelland 4.29 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Harold's Coming 3.18 avg rating — 17 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Barehanded: poems 3.82 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Heist-est Heist Ever Heisted: A Heist Story of a Heist: Special Editor’s Edition 4.20 avg rating — 10 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dear Runaway: a novel in letters 4.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ninja Sons really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ghost Dick: Private Eye 4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Skeleton Army: a novel of an army of darkness of skeletons 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tough Shoot: a short essay 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Mother's Silver Bowl 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Peter Derk's Blog

Want to listen to Pete's Exhaustive Review of Modelland as an Audiobook?

How convenient for you that you can!

Over the course of 4 podcasts I read the entire thing, and now you can listen to it (and then rate and review it here on Goodreads or on Amazon because that would help me out a lot).

Here are the links to the 4 episodes. It's not like a totally perfect audiobook, you'll have to take breaks for theme songs and whatnot, but for free? It's pretty solid.

Part 1: http Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 11, 2022 12:08

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Series by Peter Derk

Digitally Stimulated (4 books)
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Peter Derk (Goodreads Author)

4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings

Peter is Currently Reading

Peter Derk is currently reading

Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed

by Lance Carbuncle (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Oct 26, 2020 12:12PM

Peter Derk is currently reading

The Complete Stories

by Flannery O'Connor

bookshelves: currently-reading, 2018

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Feb 20, 2018 06:33PM

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Peter Derk and 4 other people liked Marc Dark Reader of the Woods's status update Marc Dark Reader of the Woods is on page 131 of 508 of Different Seasons: Todd, to a Nazi, on Nazis: "You guys just went overboard, you know that? You really did."
21 hours, 44 min ago
Peter Derk made a comment on his review of Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 " I mean, when I was 15 and had nothing but time, wasn’t so bad. Closer to 40 you are, harder it is to justify all that charging up! "
Aug 02, 2022 02:45PM · see review
Peter Derk rated a book really liked it Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Incredibly cute. At first it's a little odd because the living garlic is bringing garlic bulbs to a farmer's market and selling them, which feels like me bringing tiny humans to a farmer's market for people to eat. Which I might do. I'm not a good per ...more
Aug 01, 2022 04:23PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Derk rated a book it was ok Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 by Tatsuki Fujimoto	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
If someone wrote a manga about me, it'd be called: Volume 1 Man Because I like the volume 1's, but then I'm usually all set. I don't need 36 volumes of the same thing. I'm good! Plus, I'd rather try 36 different stories than one long story. If you want ...more
Aug 01, 2022 04:20PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 by Tatsuki Fujimoto <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Derk rated a book liked it The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is pretty good, and I don't always like embarrassing stories because they remind me of MY OWN embarrassing stories, which I do just fine reminding MYSELF of, thank you. What is it about saying or doing something dumb when you're 7 that never leav ...more
Aug 01, 2022 04:18PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Derk and 3 other people liked Mike's status update Mike is 16% done with Hulk by Donny Cates, Vol. 1: One thing this does better than other recent creative hand-offs: this current storyline builds on what was just bequeathed to us readers, rather than just ignoring it. The cycle of “Hulk’s in control” the. “Banner’s in control” and back is a little well-worn by now, but it still feels like a fun ride.
Jul 29, 2022 08:13PM · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hulk by Donny Cates, Vol. 1 by Donny Cates. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hulk by Donny Cates, Vol. 1 by Donny Cates <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Derk rated a book liked it Immortal Hulk, Vol. 3: Hulk In Hell by Al Ewing	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Ehhhh, I don't know, this is giving me hardcore Swamp Thing, Alan Moore vibes. Which is okay, but sometimes gets a little poetic for my liking. What is it with these green characters getting all introspective and shit? TBH, I also could've done withou ...more
Jul 25, 2022 07:54AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Immortal Hulk, Vol. 3 by Al Ewing. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Immortal Hulk, Vol. 3 by Al Ewing <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Derk rated a book liked it Immortal Hulk Omnibus Volume 1 by Al Ewing	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
After reading volume 1 and putting it down, I'm back with a vengeance to try this series again. This starts out great. I'd describe it as being like the X-Files' "Monster of the Week" era where we've got a general premise, but each episode stands alon ...more
Jul 25, 2022 07:29AM · 1 like · like · see review
Peter Derk rated a book liked it The Complete Neat Stuff by Peter Bagge	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
These comics just make me think of the 80's and 90's, when no one gave A FUCK about comics, so they could kind of be whatever. We could ask What If's. In fact, let's explore some of the What If? comics by title: What if Barbara Ketch had become the Gho ...more
Jul 25, 2022 07:20AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Complete Neat Stuff by Peter Bagge. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Complete Neat Stuff by Peter Bagge <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Derk answered Steve Bal4's question: I just read your books, Ghost Dick, and The Heist-iest Heist Ever Heisted, and they where absolutely hilarious; I have never laughed that hard reading books in my life. Sublime dumb-funny at its best. I'm curious about your process: how much of what you write just spews fully-formed onto the page vs. what you may have to massage into shape via editing afterwards? Hi Steve! First, thanks! Well, my process works like this: I'll have a general idea where I'm headed, like "Heist Story," then I'll start writing. I take a lot of different paths and go down some rabbit holes, and once I've got the story wrapped, I'll e See Full Answer
Jul 23, 2022 02:16PM · 1 like · like

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Quotes by Peter Derk (?)

“You might have to hurt yourself if you want to really be alone for a little while.”
― Peter Derk, Dear Runaway: a novel in letters

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“I try really hard not to live how people think I live.”
― Peter Derk, Dear Runaway: a novel in letters

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“All I did one summer was lay down on a shitty 70's couch and listen to bands I won't even talk about because they're too embarrassing. A whole summer like that. Okay, fine. It was Staind.”
― Peter Derk, Dear Runaway: a novel in letters

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Turn of a Page: March Monthly Readathon	94	101	Apr 01, 2022 10:25AM
Turn of a Page: Shandra's Thread	57	19	Jul 31, 2022 07:57PM

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Peter’s Quotes

“Game shows are designed to make us feel better about the random, useless facts that are all we have left of our education.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

tags: education, game-shows, trivia

652 likes

“Remember; no matter how desperate the situation seems, time spent
thinking clearly is never time wasted.”
― Max Brooks, The Zombie Survival Guide

119 likes

“Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?”
― Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

tags: isolation, loneliness, sadness

5698 likes

“Fuck concepts. Don't be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible. Stay open, forever, so open it hurts, and then open up some more, until the day you die, world without end, amen.”
― George Saunders

185 likes

“All these weirdos, and me getting a little better every day right in the midst of them. I had never known, never even imagined for a heartbeat, that there might be a place for people like us.”
― Denis Johnson, Jesus' Son

60 likes

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