"Under the Influence"
Throughout the novella there are references, influences and allusions, not all of them consciously intended on my part, pointing to films by Pasolini, Antonioni, Resnais, Polanski and Hitchcock, writings by Pinter, Poe, Kosinski, Camus, Patricia Highsmith and Ian McEwan, and songs by Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Bronski Beat, A Flock of Seagulls and Bob Marley.
Several people had suggested that I change the title, remarking that "Eclipse" sounded too familiar. I searched Amazon and found several books either called "Eclipse" or others having the word as part of the title.
One evening I walked into Urban Outfitters, a clothing store in my neighborhood, that carried, among other items, record albums. As I browsed through the LPs, I came across one with a cover designed by Andy Warhol. It was "The Velvet Underground & Nico." The last song was "European Son." I thought to myself: "That would be a really good title for my book." I went back on Amazon. There were no other titles with that name. The next day I bought a copy of the cd and listened to it. The group's song had nothing in common with my book. So "Eclipse" became "European Son: a novella."
I had read the bestselling self-help/spiritual text "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz, a lovely, inspirational book. I was impressed not only with its messages but by its look, its interior design. I called the publisher on the west coast and asked about the book's font and its size. The person I spoke to got back to me immediately with the information.
Joan Didion's "Play It As It Lays" is one of my favorite novels, dealing as does my book, with aloneness and isolation. The interior layout of her book has wide margins and lots of empty space, conveying a kind of desolation.
By now I had finished writing my book and had signed with CreateSpace to self-publish it. I called up my creative team and told them about the font, the look of Didion's book and my wish to have single asterisks indicating the passage of time. They were very accomodating. We also worked closely on the cover's artwork, depicting a young man, facing the horizon, standing alone on the beach in Nice.
Several people had suggested that I change the title, remarking that "Eclipse" sounded too familiar. I searched Amazon and found several books either called "Eclipse" or others having the word as part of the title.
One evening I walked into Urban Outfitters, a clothing store in my neighborhood, that carried, among other items, record albums. As I browsed through the LPs, I came across one with a cover designed by Andy Warhol. It was "The Velvet Underground & Nico." The last song was "European Son." I thought to myself: "That would be a really good title for my book." I went back on Amazon. There were no other titles with that name. The next day I bought a copy of the cd and listened to it. The group's song had nothing in common with my book. So "Eclipse" became "European Son: a novella."
I had read the bestselling self-help/spiritual text "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz, a lovely, inspirational book. I was impressed not only with its messages but by its look, its interior design. I called the publisher on the west coast and asked about the book's font and its size. The person I spoke to got back to me immediately with the information.
Joan Didion's "Play It As It Lays" is one of my favorite novels, dealing as does my book, with aloneness and isolation. The interior layout of her book has wide margins and lots of empty space, conveying a kind of desolation.
By now I had finished writing my book and had signed with CreateSpace to self-publish it. I called up my creative team and told them about the font, the look of Didion's book and my wish to have single asterisks indicating the passage of time. They were very accomodating. We also worked closely on the cover's artwork, depicting a young man, facing the horizon, standing alone on the beach in Nice.
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