Lance Carbuncle Q&A discussion
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Questions about Grundish and Askew
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When will it be out for us to consume?
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Did this one seem to be easier or more difficult to write?
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I think it's supposed to be submitted to the printer some time this coming week so it should be available online soon. I'll definitely be making some noise about its availability as soon as it is out there.
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It's a totally different story but there is some crossover from some of the Smashed characters. Buddy Hinton makes a cameo appearance. Idjit Galoot also shows up several times.
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Did this one seem to be easier or more difficult to write?"
That’s a tough one. The old cliche that one’s books are like his children has some truth to it. I like both of the books equally but differently. Smashed was a blast to write. It just flowed from me and it was incredible to watch the story develop. In large part I didn’t know where the tale was going to go as I wrote it. I only knew the beginning and I knew pretty much how it was going to end. For example, I had no idea that there would be a freezer full of poo and was quite surprised at that turn in the book. Everything in between the start and end was as much a journey of discovery for me as it was for my protagonist.
G&A was a little bit more planned out/outlined ahead of time (although I still approached it pretty loosely) and I guess, as a result, little less of a surprise to me as I was writing it. Nevertheless, there were moments as I was writing that I was like “oh shit, I didn’t see that coming.” I had to think G&A through a little bit more so it took some of the fun away for me (but not much). I think the additional work on the second book helped me turn out one that is maybe a little bit tighter than Smashed in terms of the writing but is still just as wild and fucked up. In fact, I told my brother that I thought I had tamed things down a little bit for G&A and he just shook his head, laughing, and said that it’s worse (meaning more fucked-up). Another one of my pre-readers told me it is better than Smashed. So whatever, I guess it boils down to me loving both of my books equally but differently.
Lance, when you're in (or think you're in) your final stages of editing the book and rewriting, when do you know you're done? How do your pre-readers figure into the final editting stages?
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I don't know that I'm ever done. When I reread Smashed, I still find myself wanting to edit it. At some point, though, after numerous re-readings, you just have to walk away and decide that it's finished. Wrapping up a book becomes like kicking your adult teenager out of the house. You just have to throw your hands up in the air and say to yourself, "I've done everything I can. Let's hope it was enough."
As far as pre-readers, I don’t think I’ve really utilized them as well as I could have. For Smashed the only pre-reader was my wife. She was also my editor, cover designer, formatter, and critic. So I guess it’s fair to say that she figured heavily in the finished product. With Grundish and Askew I had several family members (once again including my wife) as pre-readers. I did get some good feedback and it did help me to polish up some of the passages in the book. But, I think that with my next effort I may try to get a somewhat larger group of pre-readers and take better advantage of that.
so what's this book about? and what does the title mean?
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Do you find that your family can be harsh critics, or perhaps in some cases, not harsh enough as they pre-read your novels?
I would happily be a pre-reader :)I understand what you say about rereading something and wanting to make changes constantly. Sometimes you don't even see your own mistakes because you read it so much.
Go with the gut-my feeling on things.
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The title is the names of the two main characters. I just liked their names so much that I decided to keep it simple and use them for the title. What is it about? Well, I’ll just cut and paste the back cover blurb here to give you an idea:
"Strap on your athletic cup and grab a barf bag. The Dr. Reverend Lance Carbuncle is going to kick you square in the balls and send you on a wild ride that may or may not answer the following questions: what happens when two white trash, trailer park-dwelling, platonic life partners go on a moronic and misdirected crime spree?; can their manly love for each other endure when one of them suffers a psychological bitch-slap that renders him a homicidal maniac?; will a snaggletoothed teenage prostitute tear them apart?; what is the best way to use a dead illegal alien to your advantage in a hostage situation?; what’’s that smell?; and, what the hell is Alf the Sacred Burro coughing up? Carbuncle’’s latest offering, Grundish and Askew, ponders these troubling questions and more. So sit down, put on some protective goggles, and get ready for Carbuncle to blast you in the face with a warm load of fictitious sickness."
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Do you find that your family can be harsh critics, or perhaps in some cases, not harsh enough as they pre-read your novels?"
Yeah, I think I need to go outside of my family for my prereaders of the next book. My wife is great at critiquing my work and I value her input. As far as the rest of my family, they read my stuff and give me helpful feedback like, “I liked it” and “that’s funny.” So for the most part my family (my wife excluded) is not critical enough to help me improve my work.
Lance wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Lance, when you're in (or think you're in) your final stages of editing the book and rewriting, when do you know you're done? How do your pre-readers figure into the final editting s..."The book I'm working on now--I'm getting that "throw the teenager out of the house" edge going. I'm just always worried, because I always have this feeling that its never enough. Alright, let me read some other posts to get my mind off of it.
Lance wrote: "Kingcrusty wrote: "so what's this book about? and what does the title mean?"The title is the names of the two main characters. I just liked their names so much that I decided to keep it simpl..."
That's a pretty sweet back cover.
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You have some of my favorites in there: A quick shout out to Labrynth (Top of my all time fave flicks!), a peek at Reserviour Dogs, and a three page salute to Of Mice and Men.....
Idjit is back in all his philosophical glory, and with a buddy, no less! as is the poop and bottom burp talk (god this is such a GUY novel!)
I am flying through it.....and loving every minute of it.
*Yep. I dare you to look it up!
So you told me some time ago that I could buy The new book and then mail it to you for a signature and you would mail it back. I purchased the first book at your site. I was so happy to see that you were offereing it again but I am assuming that it is sold out because a few mintues later Paypal was saying that the link was no longer available!!!!!!So Now I gotta decide on what I wanna do!
Irregardless-my most hated word of all times! Damn you and the footnotes. Yes, I am a vocabulary snob and you used the one word that drives me bonkers! Otherwise, enjoying the read, carry on :)
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DeneenYou let that stinking Carbuncle off the hook too easily. Let's hunt him down and break his fingers. This guy may be the best 'off broadway' writer in the country but irregardless of that we can't let him ignore common wordification.
PEJ
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Next time,Carbuncle, don't be quite so parsimonious with the gratuitous pandering to the readership. I owe you a book.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...