Goodreads asked R.J. Stowell:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

R.J. Stowell Jay and the Americans is marketed as a fictional memoir. To put that into perspective, roughly 90% of it accurately depicts my life. When reading a memoir I am often intrigued by the characters, but halfway through find myself yearning for plot. Plot is the other 10% of Jay and the Americans.

In my current project, Miles From Nowhere, much of it is true (isn't fiction always a reflection of the author's psyche?), but plotting and story take precedence over accuracy. Miles From Nowhere, scheduled for publication in November 2018, is a first-person account of a sick young man determined to make it to Woodstock. Miles' illness has led to dialysis and ultimately to a kidney transplant, but his struggle to make it to the famed concert is more about life than the certain uncertainty of death. Albeit on the last day, Miles makes it to Woodstock. What sounds like a spoiler really isn't, Miles journey is far more important than a concert, even one of Woodstock's magnitude.

While Jay and the Americans utilizes pop culture as a vehicle for plotting, Miles From Nowhere focuses on music as the story's catalyst, indeed music essentially becomes a character in the story.

To finally answer the question: for the past five years I have been the author of the rock history/review website AM (https://10-am.blogspot.com/) which gets more than 3000 hits per day. While its focus tends to be related to what is erroneously called "classic rock," the true purpose of the site is to create a community of people who appreciate great rock music; from country rock to alt and art rock, AM is a celebration of the music that we love. That music is the impetus that drives Miles From Nowhere.

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