I'm currently putting the finishing touches on Suicide Flats -- the first book I've written after almost two difficult years of blocks, administrative overwhelm, and the monumental task of reinventing my entire author career. It's pretty exciting to almost have it ready for you to read!

(If you're curious about Suicide Flats, read this. I'll publish it this coming week, and will send an email to let you know.)

I've published a few books in the last two years, but I haven't actually written any. It's a long story, but one of the things that's been keeping me from it is figuring out where the hell I fit in the world of modern authordom ... which is what I meant above by "reinventing my author career."

Now, though, I know where I fit: Nowhere.

Yep. Turns out I don't fit "the correct way to be an author in 2024" at all. Compared to the way 90% of the authors I know work, I'm a rule-bucking weirdo who does everything wrong.

These days, authors are supposed to write what Kindle Unlimited readers expect and want more of. There are strict best practices in terms of genre conventions, keywords and algorithmic tweaking, and constantly paying attention "what's hot right now" so that they can deliver it. Authors are supposed to be all over social media, continue their successful series forever even if they're tired of writing it, stick to a single genre, and produce a book every other week even if the books are rushed and the stress of writing them so fast is killing them.

I don't do any of that. I'm too stubborn. I like to write; that's why I'm here. I want my books to sell, but that's secondary. I'd rather write what I want than what the masses want. Frankly, I could give a shit about what the algorithms think of me -- something that costs me a lot of sales I could otherwise have. I hate social media and don't do it at all.

I like writing "weird" books -- books that feel unique, unexpected, and bespoke. Books that reflect who I truly am rather than what the market wants of me. Honestly, if you're on this list and you want the norm, I respectfully suggest you unsubscribe right now. I'm not a fan of the norm, and that means norm-seekers will definitely be disappointed.

Deep down, I'm a freak. My books are freaks. I like writing for people who defy "normal," which I personally use as another word for "boring."

He-Man. She-Ra.

While writing Suicide Flats, it occurred to me to compare a fight sequence to the ridiculous 1980s mainstay The Masters of the Universe. I then considered not doing it because 1) it's weird and 2) anyone under 35 won't get the reference. But then I said FUCK THAT SHIT; I'm an artist and I do what I want ... and so I wrote this:

Note the inclusion of Jose Canseco. The story takes place in 1989, so 1989 became my world. All the mainstays of the 80s are here: references to Nickelodeon shows like Double Dare and You Can't Do That on Television, the ever-popular Toyota Tercel, and of course Tiffany holding concerts in the mall.

In 2024, authors do well when they follow the rules and act normal. THAT'S how you get Amazon's algorithms to sell your books for you. What I'm doing, by contrast, is career suicide. I figure it doesn't matter because I'm already hopeless from an algorithmic point of view. I mean ... I wrote Unicorn Western, along with Sean. What defies "what you're supposed to write" more than that?

I can't follow rules. I can't be normal. I've tried, just as an experiment. Couldn't do it. Nope -- no matter what, my stories end up full of Robocop and Snake Plisken references.

Obey the 80s

I never thought of myself as a writer of "period pieces," mostly because the term always struck me as pretentious. That's before I realized that the 80s and 90s are "periods" now, and that I'm old to have thought otherwise.

I'd always imagined period pieces as being Victorian or something: the kinds of books you have to read with your pinky finger held out. The 80s wasn't a period, was it? The 80s were a working-stiff, meat-and-potatoes, low-brow, get-a-concussion-at-Action-Park kind of time. If you held your pinky out reading a book like that, someone would stuff you in a locker and cut the rat tail off the back of your head.

Now that I've written a book that takes place in 1989, it's like I unlocked something. Something not just awesome, but also bodacious, radical, and worthy of pastel colors and Skidz shorts. I'm not saying I'm going to write a bunch of 80s-themed books now, but I'm sure as hell not going to stop making references to them and their lamer Vanilla-Ice cousin, the 90s.

Writing a book that takes place in a certain year is a lot of fun. I get to do research. Not the boring kind of research, but cool research.

So for instance, consider this passage from later in the same scene:

The book as a whole is FAR from funny, but I find passages like this one hilarious. I'm a huge fan of inserting humor and irreverence where it doesn't belong, because it puts the reader off guard and makes the gut punches in other parts of the book far more effective. As a whole, Suicide Flats is bleak and depressing, then action-packed and redeemingly triumphant as you keep reading. The quote I pulled from an early galley review for the cover was "unsettlingly beautiful," and that about nails it overall. The story is beautiful ... for reasons that'll keep you up at night.

So I really liked that Bill Nye reference. Hell: I really like Bill Nye. But then my research hat appeared on my head and I thought, Wait. When was Bill Nye? Turns out Bill didn't show up until the 90s, and this was '89. So I changed it to Mr. Wizard. Remember Mr. Wizard? He was kind of an asshole. The kids on his TV show would draw the wrong conclusions, and he'd basically yell at them. A kids' show with a host who seemed to hate kids? That right there was the 80s for you: Do science, ride your 10-speed to the arcade, then get the fuck off Mr. Wizard's lawn.

Anyway, that's me. That's who you get if you keep reading my books. There's zero question I'm not for everyone ... but if you've been with me for as long as a lot of you have, clearly I'm for you.

That's amazing. We weirdos need to stick together.

As I move into this new phase (writing as much as I ever did in the past, but because I LOVE WRITING rather than because I'm rushing), I plan to lean even more into my weird, wrong way of doing things like I've always done.

I'll make more obscure references that I find funny but that others won't get. I'll keep putting science in my books, because Michael Crichton is gone and someone has to take up his mantle. I'll keep breaking rules. I'll keep creating books that the Amazon algorithms hate and won't even try sell. Who cares? I'm an artist and I'll do what I want.

Anyhoo, Suicide Flats will be out in a few days, and it'll be half-price for the first week or so. I'll let you know when it's out so you can grab your copy.

Thanks for being here with me, weirdo. In a world gone crazy, we might be the only sane ones left.

JT

P.S: Remember, if you backed my City of Fire Kickstarter campaign, you'll get Suicide Flats for free as your promised stretch goal. I'll send you details about that when it's ready. If you want to buy the book anyway to support artisanal weirdness and help stoke those bookseller algorithms that hate me, though, I won't stop you.