Matthew David Curry's Blog, page 11

The Gasoline Diet

I’ve written a new novel. It’s called The Gasoline Diet. It’s about a young man named Charlie who struggles with a weight problem and low self-esteem. One morning, while Charlie eats a sausage biscuit at the local gas station, a gas pump explodes outside the window. A raging ball of fire consumes the self-service island as Charlie watches in horror. He and the other people in the gas station rush out the back door in a frantic stampede, fearful that the store itself will catch on fire. As Charlie scrambles away from the gas station, he experiences chest pains. He believes he’s having a heart attack. Afterward, he resolves to go on a diet and start exercising. He quickly sheds his excess weight and transforms into a new person. He gains self-confidence, buys a leather jacket, throws an eggplant at a robber, meets an eccentric software developer in the woods, and falls in love with a girl who sees the future. The Gasoline Diet is available on Amazon. You can click here to order a copy.

A quick sketch

I haven’t drawn much lately since I’ve been absorbed in my new book, but here’s a little sketch I did last night. It’s my friend Rachel Thompson.

Hope you’re all doing well. I’ll post more soon. I’m hoping the new book will be available on Amazon in two or three weeks.

Blog hop: meet my character

My good friend Liz Fountain invited me to participate in the “meet my character” blog hop. I was supposed to post this one yesterday, but I got distracted and derailed. Anyway, here goes.

* Is your character fictional or historical?

Charlie Crabtree, the main character in my new novel, is fictional.

* When and where is the story set?

The book takes place in North Georgia in 2014. I haven’t come up with a title yet, but most of the manuscript is written. I’m fine-tuning it right now.

* What should we know about him/her?

Charlie has struggled with a weight problem all his life. One morning, as he sits in a gas station and munches on a sausage biscuit, a gas pump explodes outside. He has to run out the back door of the gas station with the other customers. As he rushes out the door, he suffers some chest pains. He thinks he’s having a heart attack. Thus, Charlie goes on a diet and undergoes an intense transformation.

* What is the main conflict? What messes up?

Charlie’s father bought him comic books all the time when he was a boy. Unfortunately, Charlie’s father passed away when he was only eight. Ever since then, Charlie has kept the comic books in a wooden chest in the closet. They’re his only link to his father. One afternoon, a robber breaks into Charlie’s apartment and steals several items — including the old comic books. Charlie spends the rest of the story looking for the robber and the beloved comics.

* What is the personal goal of the character?

He has two goals: to lose weight and get back his old comic books. During his journey, he also meets a girl named Tanya. He falls deliriously in love with her.

* Is it published?

Not yet, but I expect it to drop in a month of two. I just need to think of a good title and tinker with a few minor things.

 

(I have no idea where the photo at the top came from. It’s not my work. The person responsible for it is a genius, though.)

Coffee with Jack White

I’m still hammering away on my new novel, but I took a break from it over the weekend and drew a picture of myself drinking coffee with my favorite musician, Jack White. This image popped into my mind the other night at work and I had to sit down and draw it. I hope you’re doing well. Have a nice weekend. I’ll write more later.

A new drawing

I haven’t drawn as much during the last two months because my new book has consumed all my creative juices, but I did sit down and draw a picture of Jesus this evening. Lately, I’ve felt the need to draw him.

My new novel is about halfway finished, I think. If everything runs on schedule, I think I will complete it by the end of September. I hope so, anyway. I feel really good about it. I think it’s a great story. I’m eager to publish this thing and let it fly out into the world.

I hope you have a great week. Thanks for reading.

A new book is in the oven

I haven’t blogged much lately because I’ve been working on a new novel. I think I’m about halfway finished with it. Whenever I become engrossed in a book, I neglect my blog. And I don’t draw much either. So here are three old drawings that I haven’t posted in a long time. Hope you’re having a good week.

Lillie Mae Rische

My job has really taken a bite out of my drawing time lately, but I’m still able to sit down and do some sketching on Sunday evenings. I drew a picture of the Noid, a character from the old Domino’s Pizza commercials, last Sunday. This time, I drew Lillie Mae Rische, Jack White’s fiddle player. I bought his new CD last week while I was buying groceries and I’ve been listening to it over and over again. One of my favorite songs is Temporary Ground, where Lillie Mae sings and plays the fiddle. They performed this song on the Conan O’Brien show recently. It was brilliant. I liked their old-fashioned microphones and their matching silver instruments. I hope you all have a nice week.

The Noid

Here’s a drawing I just finished this morning. It’s a picture of the Noid, a character in Domino’s pizza commercials in the 80s. I was fascinated with him when I was a kid. Still am.

My encounter with Conan O’Brien

I was in my bathroom the other day, cleaning out the cabinet under the sink. I noticed a little green door in the back of the cabinet, a little door I had never seen before. I opened it and crawled through … and I entered a magical shopping mall filled with frolicking unicorns and dancing leprechauns and Lionel Richie music. In the food court of the magical mall, there was a KFC. I went inside it and (behold!) Conan O’Brien was sitting at a table. I asked if I could sit with him and (behold!) he said I could.

Then, as we were eating, he leaned over and whispered something to me. He said he was a risk-taker and a rule-breaker and a cake-baker and a yard-raker. I was amazed! And then he confided in me further and revealed that he was a smooth-talker and a fast-walker and a Facebook-stalker and a bathtub-caulker! While he was telling me all this, I discreetly reached over and stole a chicken wing from him.

Filled with rage, Conan O’Brien transformed into a pterodactyl and flew away, spraying me with dung as he flapped out of the restaurant. I was sad because I had failed to get his autograph … but I happily scarfed down the rest of his coleslaw and mashed potatoes.

So it goes, so it goes.

Sillysparrow Ness

This is a drawing of Sillysparrow Ness, a YouTube diva who talks about books, chickens, and Doctor Who. (And other subjects too.) I discovered her by accident a couple of weeks ago. She did an amazing job of dissecting and analyzing the episodes Human Nature and Family of Blood. I drew this picture while camping at a motel, drinking coffee and watching cartoons.