by: J.P. Rieger
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: April 25, 2024
Publisher: Pearls Before Press Publishing
Three nephews and three eccentric uncles.
It’s 2050 and Robbie Elders has all but forgotten about his oddball, religious fanatic uncle, tim tim. He’s taken up the latest fad, genealogical research based solely on DNA. But Robbie’s “inconclusive” DNA results are unsettling. He crashes back to his childhood, back to his world of comic books and tim tim.
“I opt for posh and London” declares Lady Florence Stour. It’s 2019 and time for a Royal Wedding. Robbie’s uncle, Stef, is engaged to Lady Florence, a distant member of the British royal family. Stef’s Baltimore clan have been invited, but Robbie’s mom and dad can’t attend. They’ve entrusted Robbie and big brother, Doyle, to their mom’s two eccentric brothers, uncles Roy and Roland. Roy, a weathered waterman with a severe Baltimore accent, lives for Maryland blue crabs. Roland, a mildly hypochondriacal actor, lives to survive the Karens he unavoidably encounters. And then there’s Desales, Roy’s smart aleck, teenage son. He lives to prank. They’ve descended upon London. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, tim tim has been coaching Robbie on “the mission.” A silly religious fantasy according to Robbie’s atheist parents and the therapists. Or perhaps not? Things are not always as they appear in The Big Comb Over.
Why I Became a Writer and My Journey to Publication
J.P. Rieger © 2024
I don’t think I became a writer. I was probably born a writer. I’ve loved reading my entire life but seldom wrote except as required by my education or career. I took plenty of literature courses in college but never any writing courses. And pushing through education and establishing a career left little time for reading, let alone writing. But once my law career was established, I decided to try my hand at writing.
I always loved Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and Poe’s detective and mystery stories and decided to create my own puzzle-solving character. I had also read The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes edited by Hugh Greene, which compiled Victorian and Edwardian detective stories featuring sleuths operating during the Sherlock era. These characters, in theory, competed with Sherlock for detective business and are hence referred to as “rivals.” Several of the detectives in the anthology were anti-heroes and I decided that I would make my protagonist’s scruples a little deficient, too.
My character, Roderick Misely, is a lawyer wannabe living in a small town in the late 1950s. I wrote the stories/chapters comprising The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, over the course of a decade. I would squeeze the writing in whenever I could, during vacations, business travel and weekends. I finished the book in 2013, but doubted that there would be much of a market for it so I took the self-publishing route. It sold in miniscule quantities, probably because I knew absolutely nothing about promotion.
I kept writing, again squeezing the writing in whenever I could. I completed my second novel, Clonk!, in early 2022. Clonk! is a police farce featuring Baltimore Police Detective Kev Dixit. On a whim, I submitted the novel to a single publisher, Apprentice House Press, a student-run publishing lab within Loyola University in Baltimore. I figured a Baltimore publisher might enjoy my whacky Baltimore story. Through some miracle, they accepted Clonk! and it was published in May, 2023.
I’ve been mostly retired since March, 2022 and now have plenty of time to write. Following Clonk!, I wrote The Big Comb Over. I spent about a year looking for a niche publisher, but, again, there didn’t seem to be much of a market for a family-based comedy/satire with a magical realism slant. Not to worry! Self-publishing beckoned again.
Many indie authors encourage self-publishing writers to use a trade or brand name for their endeavor, rather than their own name. So, I picked the name Pearls Before Press Publishing for my imprint. (Obviously a joke - don’t throw your valuable pearls to the swine and don’t send your good novels to this publisher.) I figured The Big Comb Over would look awfully lonesome on my big, new self-publishing website. So, I decided to provide some company. I invented another two dozen or so books for my new imprint, all spoofs. I figured anyone finding the site would get a few laughs at the ridiculous book titles and descriptions. And, I created a lively blog featuring posts by the fictional Acquisitions Editor and guests, which are then commented on by one or two of the imaginary writers. And, yes, there’s a hardnosed attorney for the publisher constantly challenging the comments. And eventually one realizes from the comments that the imprint is having financial difficulties and trying to dodge its royalty payments. No fool no fun!
I recently completed my fourth novel, Sunscreen Shower, which also features my cop character Kev Dixit. I’ve just started the submission process, so we shall see. But, no worries. There will always be room at Pearls Before Press! Pearlsbeforepress.net
“Thanks, bud! So, how has your travel thing worked out? You had said you were doing, like, covered bridge destinations?”
“Well, yes. I started with that because, you know, a lot of people really connect with covered bridges. There’s a peacefulness. A return to simpler times and virtues. A lot of people like that.”
“Sounds nice.”
“But I’m not the only agent with that idea. There are actually a lot of travel consultants doing covered bridges. Old railroad lines are also big these days. Anyway, I upped the ante. I’m now working in acoustic sound barriers.”
Chris saw Roland’s puzzled look.
“Okay. So, it’s interesting. You know you drive along the Beltway or other highways and see they’ve put up all those sound barrier walls, right? That way it’s not so noisy for the people in their houses. The walls are all prefabricated and look about the same. But I noticed, every now and then, they stick a door in one. I always wondered why. I learned that it’s so that the highway people can get access for maintenance or to get to fire hydrants or what have you.”
“Yes?”
“So, I had been curious about that and thought, ‘You know, if I’m curious about that, other people will be too.’”
“Okay.”
“So, I surveilled various sound walls throughout the state—mostly around Baltimore—and made a list of the most interesting ones with doors. Some of them have been around like twenty years, so they have, like, a highway patina. A lot of them have plants and vines growing around them, randomly, but sometimes in very beautiful ways. So I reached out to some of the folks whose homes are affected to get a tour, as it were. The coolest thing is the ‘before and after.’ You know, you listen first with the door open. At peak times the noise is unbelievable. But once you close that door, there is an immediate calm. Much more peaceful. Very Zen. And like I said, the naturally occurring flora and fauna are quite amazing. Besides the plants, there were things like rodents and birds nesting near the doors. Some right on the walls above the doors. You could tell because of all the droppings.”
Roland blinked twice.
“Well, yes. I started with that because, you know, a lot of people really connect with covered bridges. There’s a peacefulness. A return to simpler times and virtues. A lot of people like that.”
“Sounds nice.”
“But I’m not the only agent with that idea. There are actually a lot of travel consultants doing covered bridges. Old railroad lines are also big these days. Anyway, I upped the ante. I’m now working in acoustic sound barriers.”
Chris saw Roland’s puzzled look.
“Okay. So, it’s interesting. You know you drive along the Beltway or other highways and see they’ve put up all those sound barrier walls, right? That way it’s not so noisy for the people in their houses. The walls are all prefabricated and look about the same. But I noticed, every now and then, they stick a door in one. I always wondered why. I learned that it’s so that the highway people can get access for maintenance or to get to fire hydrants or what have you.”
“Yes?”
“So, I had been curious about that and thought, ‘You know, if I’m curious about that, other people will be too.’”
“Okay.”
“So, I surveilled various sound walls throughout the state—mostly around Baltimore—and made a list of the most interesting ones with doors. Some of them have been around like twenty years, so they have, like, a highway patina. A lot of them have plants and vines growing around them, randomly, but sometimes in very beautiful ways. So I reached out to some of the folks whose homes are affected to get a tour, as it were. The coolest thing is the ‘before and after.’ You know, you listen first with the door open. At peak times the noise is unbelievable. But once you close that door, there is an immediate calm. Much more peaceful. Very Zen. And like I said, the naturally occurring flora and fauna are quite amazing. Besides the plants, there were things like rodents and birds nesting near the doors. Some right on the walls above the doors. You could tell because of all the droppings.”
Roland blinked twice.
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Thank you so much for hosting THE BIG COMB OVER today. We appeciate it.
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DeleteThis sounds like an interesting story. Thanks for sharing.
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ReplyDeleteSounds like a really interesting read!
ReplyDeletelooks like a fun one
ReplyDeleteI like everything about this book - genre title and cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this.
I would have a hard time putting this book down after starting to read it.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever started a book that you decided not to finish?
ReplyDeleteWhat inspired you to write this book?
ReplyDeleteHow do you come up with names for the characters?
ReplyDeleteDid you have any writing education?
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