July 24, 2025 • 42 mins
JLJ chats with Peter about his new book. (presale available now on Amazon)
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
So yo, folks. I read a lot of books. I
love books. Books are not going nowhere. Books are in
I be people, whether you're doing it audible or or
have a handheld copy, people are reading books. And I
just I think it's just so much fun to take
you out of her where you are today to go
somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
It's the cheapest way to travel. I always say, right,
we can in between pages with James lot Junior. You
know who I am. I'm James Latini here on jailj Media,
and you know I find the most interesting books. And
this book is something else. Kids, I'll tell you something.
It starts with a plane crash. Okay, folks, you got
like six pages of plane crash happening, and then it
goes to this whole other thing that's like it's like
(00:42):
there's I was talking before we got the show. There's
like power struggles and this person's as like the kind
of secrets, and then.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Then this person sides the baby is mine, and I mean,
I just all kinds of stuff going on.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
There's all stuff kind of going on, and there's folks
after plane crash, watching what's going on from above. It's
all it's like metaphysical. It's real life. It's a mess
in a good way. It's called well you can see
if you watch it. I said, I can't do it
what the dad can do? I can't like Which way
do I turn? Which way I turn? If you're listening,
(01:13):
is called with the dad gad. I'm making my guests laugh.
Let me tell you who he is. Take you my
best voice in He's the author of multiple dark fictions,
dark fiction. I didn't realize that born from various addictions,
he's chased while living in New York City as an
award winning writer and creative director. We love, we take
(01:34):
our lives, determined into into art. I love that he's
been He's many years sober now congratulations, But now he
remains an addicts addict that says it is that, it
says in his bio. Is this his debut novel? Or
as my aunt says, the wut he grew up in
the Southwest. I said, I think you lived in New
York for the every twenty years, so you know he's
(01:54):
hard to the New York. Out of New York now
that is there, but now reside somewhere, he says, somewhere
between Austin and San Antonio and a place called Wimberly, Texas.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
They're heading for him.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
I like Austin, I like San Antonio, where he works
as an author, freelance creative director, copywriter and advertising. And
he says, and I believe this completely. Most importantly a
full time dad. There are good dads out there and
fathers they just passed when as we're recording this, help me.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Welcome Peter Roache.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Hi, Peter, Hello, Hello to you, and hello to everyone.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yes, and I told him earlier I love his voice.
You have a great smile. I love your voice.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
All that.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
So okay, congratulations on the book number one. Putting to
a book together is sometimes part magic, lots of determination,
many rewrites and edits in the process, so I always
feel like we really do give birth to a book.
(02:56):
So I this is calling between the pages. My first
question to you, how do you feel about it?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I feel very good about this book. I feel very
good about the process. I think you're right. I guess
if people are writing books now with AI, maybe it's
not quite as painful. I know, Anti Ai, and for
a host of reasons, thank you. Yeah. I mean if
(03:24):
you're thinking about it out there, you're cheating yourself. That's
all I'll say. There's no growth with that. And honestly,
I mean a book like this one as an example.
It's like, you know, I hatched to this idea in
twenty sixteen, and here it is twenty twenty five coming out,
and it's it's those long pauses in between that are
(03:46):
you know, are the gift really that has left at
what it is and what you're holding in your hand
there behind you. Yes, And I wouldn't trade that for
the world, you know. I mean, it's it's cliche, like,
it's not the destination, it's the journey, right. But I
went through a lot while writing this book. In fact,
it started in a very odd place for me because
(04:08):
I certain I had written and self published some books prior,
some novellas, but this one actually started out in twenty sixteen.
My son was two, and I became unreasonably convinced that
I was going to die that year. Prematurely. Yeah, I
(04:29):
had no reason to think that other than I had
been a smoker for a long time trying to quit smoking.
It just there's a great line about ideas from the
movie Inception I don't know it offhand, but it's like
an ida and it takes hold and I don't know.
You know, I went to the doctor, different doctors, probably
(04:50):
three or four times, and they're like, you're fine, just
quit smoking, you'll be all right. But I was so
convinced I actually started. I was one of those guys.
I'm sure this is true many many parents, but like,
I fell in love with my son so fast, and uh,
I just saw he was like so cool and he
was all righty even at two he was he was
a pretty I guess I've come to learn that he
(05:11):
was actually a pretty verbal and animated character for two.
And I had all this stuff that I was like,
I gotta, I gotta, I gotta tell you all these things.
But if I die, I won't be able to so
I uh, I started to write him letters and uh.
And that was the unexpected start of this book actually,
(05:31):
because while I was doing that, I I had kind
of the core premise for this book came to my
mind where it was like, if you, well, I don't
know if I'm getting ahead. I think I answered your question.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
You're doing great, go ahead, please, Well.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
You know we had uh, we had tried to do
everything by the book right, uh. And part of that
was picking somebody to be the legal guardian of our
son should anything happen to us, both simultaneous a car
crash or whatever. We picked very good friends that I
had known since seventh grade, trusted. Obviously there's still technically
(06:11):
the ones that would be given my body. And but
I wondered after doing it, I was like, do I
really know who they are?
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
You know, because to a certain extent, we all wear masks,
even even with our close friends and family. I mean,
we're acting and uh. And then I also, I, you know,
you mentioned it starts with a plane crash. I as
a drunk person, as an alcoholic, and as a person
in recovery. I hate flying. I do not enjoy it.
(06:46):
I really fear it. And I thought, wow, wouldn't it
be crazy if body was survived? And then from heaven heaven,
we h we could see that the you know, the
couple that we were leaving them with, weren't who we
thought they were. And and it was actually so bad
(07:09):
that you thought it would be better to kill your child.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
And I was so fed up.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
But I read about like, dang, it's like you left
them in the care of eth and the and that's
not They're not exactly what you thought they was.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, not you the characters, Uh tag them they didn't.
They weren't. They weren't when they thought they.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Was right and so and then when that came to
my mind, I was like, well, we'll have to be
the mother. I need to write this as the mother.
And I was actually just talking about this. I did
a brief reading at Stoker Con this past weekend, Yes
and and I was talking about the challenge of the
one of the you know, the main mother character in
this is Amanda, Yes, and could I write that? Uh?
(07:51):
And I felt confident that I could because I've always
considered myself a dad and a mother. You know, I
was very fortunate that when my I was young, I
was already freelancing. I got to spend a lot of time.
My wife worked full time pretty much from when he
was one on. So I felt okay about that, but
it was still I was really attracted to the challenge of, like,
(08:13):
can I write a maternal a believable maternal character, and
then and then get your hooked long enough to be like, oh, damn, yes,
am I rooting for her?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Oh yes, I won't get away either.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
But oh yes, as I was saying, it's nott of
twists and turns in here, you're like, oh, oh, I
kind of like you think at a certain page, you're like, oh,
she's doing that. Okay, Oh she feels that way. Okay, Yes,
it gives, it gives kind of dark funds which ones.
You know that, And I get it a good and
a good reading sort of way. Yes, but I want
(08:49):
to go back for a second because this is caught
it between the pages. We go in between, and first
of all, I'm glad. I'm glad you're sober in your recovery.
I'm glad for yourself. I come from family many and
rep recovery. You know aways say you always say happy
birthday when you have them as you're doing, you have
your your year and all stuff. What now I have
(09:10):
children too, I have daughters, I have grandchildren. Are you
saying you fell in love with your son? It was
we always tell my daughter on her birthday how I
fell in love with her. I said, you know, you're
you're in your mother's stomach or you know wi's been
a nurse something like. I usually get a little more
graphic that you were in your mother's dad and you know,
make a bigger laugh and said when you came out,
because I was there when she I was there when
she was when she was born. Were you there when
(09:32):
your son was born? Yeah? So isn't there something? It's
first of all, First of all, birth is not pretty cruel.
That's my body does not doesn't want to monticize all that.
But the part that is beautiful, I think, clean up
a little bit, and they hand them to you, and
but first my hand to the mother first. But then
(09:53):
it was like, okay, your turned dad or whatever. I
did fall in love. I told her, I felt I
fell head over heel. And I want to ask you
can I still this is my daughter's on wast forty,
that's how old she is, and I still can't really
describe it fully.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Can you describe that feeling when you saw when you
held your so you saw your son the first time
and held him, and I can't fully describe. I can
describe it kind of, but it's otherworldly to me. It's
different than anything else.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
It It is a connection and a feeling that is
so hard to describe, you know, And that's probably a
big part of why I set out to write the
book because you know, I usually finish up when I
when I've had the opportunity to talk about the book
by saying that on the whole, what this book is,
at the end of the day is a published love
(10:46):
letter to my son, because that that is where it
all comes from, is that feeling and just that desire
to not ever be away from him, you know, and
to do everything. But therein lies the thing, right, I mean,
I think a big part of it is like you
can only to you could do as much as you
(11:08):
can do to a point. But you know, you and
I were just talking about the eighties and how we
came up and that you got to let go. And
I'm parenting in the age of like heavy helicopter you know,
restrictions and kids, you know, barely leaving the house unattended
until they're twenty one.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Right, right, Yes, it's very different.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Hell, so I think there's a you know, part of
the theme that's running through the book is like, you know,
we we think we always know best for our kid,
but when when does what we know best actually become
the danger and the problem?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, how have you been able to balance your sobriety
with parenthood.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Well, it hasn't been hard because everything that I do
starts with my sobriety. I you know, I it took
me a long time to get sober. I tried a
few times prior to it sticking, and I was one
of those drunks and an addict that was you know,
it was actually get sober or die. I mean, I
was pretty close. And I'm really just so grateful that
(12:20):
that it worked out. And obviously I had I played
a role in that. My higher power played a role
in that, you know. And by the time I guess,
I guess I had about five years, maybe even six
when my son was born, So I was pretty set,
you know, and I wasn't I wasn't that worried about it.
(12:41):
I think now, you know, if there's anything I worry about,
it's just I do believe that alcoholism and drug addiction
addictions in general are genetic. I do think it also
skips a lot of generations, and so I probably spend
not a lot of time, but unnecessary every time wondering like, oh,
(13:02):
is that similar to the way that I behaved when
I was eleven? Because I I'm somebody who believes you're
you're born an addict. You know that we certainly are
outside forces that contribute to it, and even in my
own journey, but in terms of parenting, I think it
left me like really good at it. I just combat
myself on the back, I you know. I mean my
(13:26):
wife would tell you like I I think she actually
at times despises me for how even keel I am
and how it takes a lot too. It takes a
lot to get me off balance.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
You know we're seeing right that way. I don't. I'm
not a panicker. I'm not.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I'm also outside some other parents on another show we
were doing and we were laughing about, well, James, were
you a yeller? I don't know. I never yelled. I
have a deep voice so I could drop a couple
octaves yea too. And my girls were like they were
going to line by. Is that never really have to
I never had to scream and yell. I mean their
mother did that, but I didn't do that. I think,
(14:02):
like you, I was very much like, well, I've I
did it all as a kids, so you can't really
surprised me. Nothing tell me and I mean, just like, well,
handle what happens. And that's kind of my that was
kind of my thoughts, like I was had handle what happens, you.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Know, Yeah, that's all you can do. Really, I say
to my son all the time. I'm just like, look,
I'm not saying you shouldn't be disappointed or angry or whatever.
Let let's move through that feeling and and and I'll
give you time to do it. But at the end
of the day, you just have to say, Okay, what's
the next right step. You know, I'm going to figure
out how to handle this thing that's in front of me.
(14:36):
And we've certainly had our share of you know, every person.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Well, kids push boundaries. That's that's their whole point. That's
what you're supposed to do. That's how it's always funny.
I always laugh my girls now they have two daughters.
They team upon me all the time, and I like,
for like for fun, and I'm like, you know, I
know I raisedly be strong, independent, mouthy women, but don't
usually gets me.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I'm a good one. Laugh.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
And we have the time about that because I did help,
which we do right. We raise our kids to be
functioning members of society hopefully, and then sometimes you see
yourself in them and you're like, oh that's me, Oh
my god, it's me, Oh my god. And it's reflect
it's a mirror, obviously, it reflects right back to you.
So yes, so I do understand that absolutely, And I
(15:21):
want to ask you do you have did you actually
when you were you said you want to start writing letters?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And you said, do you actually have letters to him?
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Yeah, I have them. I'm not what you thoughts were
you going to do with those?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
It's like twenty's eighteen, or like hold on to him
for I make a book out of it one day.
I don't know. I'm very curious about that. I like
that idea.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
That is a good question, you know. I I've I've
held on to them. I'm the only one who's seen them. Okay,
not even my wife has read them. I hadn't really
given it a whole lot of thought. That you bring
up a very interesting point. I suppose. I suppose at
some point I might ask him if he's interested in
reading them, you know, and maybe I'll give them to
(16:03):
him in a way that he can look at him
when he wants, not like, let's sit down and read
the letters that.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I write.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Exactly right now. That's why why I'm like, but just
I'm a person. I'm a fan. I like tradition, I
like symbolism. I'm a softie for that. Maybe this big
six foot, three hundred pound guy, but I'm a big
softie inside. Maybe everybody's fun of me for that because
I like, I like, I like kind of that passing
down of something, because I'm at that stage right now.
(16:32):
I'm losing parents. I'm losing I have no grandparents left.
I'm losing on gus like, I'm kind of losing folks now.
So I'm becoming the patriarch kind of the family. I
would have loved to have something for from this person
or that person, and they're gone now.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
I mean, yeah, well, I will just tell you real,
real briefly, I don't remember. I think it was about
ten twelve. It was before my son was born, and
I don't remember what got into me. I think I
was actually telling my wife a story about my father
when he was younger, and I was curious about the
details if I was getting the and so I actually
(17:08):
just reached out to my dad, who at the time
probably was seventy two, and I said, hey, would you
mind writing me a short biography of your life? And
I didn't know if he would say yes or no,
or if it would be a page or what. Right,
Ultimately it was probably about eight pages printed out, and
it was pretty good. It was pretty detailed. It filled
(17:30):
in some blanks for me now kucked in. There is
not life lessons per se like you and I were
maybe kind of alluding to. But it really still was
a powerful moment for me where I was like, it's
one thing to hear these things, it was another thing
to have it to reference, you know. And I have
(17:50):
told people that story from time to time and I'm like,
you know, if your folks are still alive, ask him
and you know, maybe another way to go. It's just
occurring to me as we talk about it, is like, hey, uh,
why don't you write me ten things you think I
should remember going forward, you know, just to have And
that is somewhat what what the letters are that I
(18:11):
wrote to my son. You know, I just wanted him
to to haven't if I died. Yeah, I think now
he has a pretty good sense of right, but even
so at that moment, I really just wanted him to
have some framework of who his father was and what
he believed in. And I wasn't like thinking it would
(18:32):
shape him from beyond the grave or you know, anything
like that. But you know, in some in some respects,
we do these things for ourselves too, you know, and
certainly gave me peace. I didn't realize it at the time,
you know, I have a good friend. Recently it was like,
it's amazing you used writing to work through those feelings.
And I was like, is that what I was doing?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Yeah? Maybe maybe right, I guess. So I'll tell you something.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I recorded my oldest aunt of my grandmother's side family,
and event I have those recordings.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
She died two years later. I have those.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
I dec I would do it to gift for the family,
but I have them. I have like like eight hours
of tape. We just talked about their lives and I
did that. Some told me to do that, and she
was open to it. She loved talking about it, so
we talked about it.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
So I have it.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
That's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
But one of the things that you and I are
doing before we're wanting to book up back to the book, well,
you and I are doing now. Anyway, anything we record,
whether it's audio video, it's for our kids. They can
go to it a time now my grandkids only know
me as a person on television, our person. So now
if I drop dead tomorrow, they can always look at
Papa Jamie anytime they want you because I have a channel.
(19:38):
And I thought that, I said, that's kind of my
legacy on some level. But that's for all of us.
Anything anybody does, anything digital or video, we can now
look at you know. Now you can go, okay, we're
all my digital for my grandparents are all a little
film pieces and I'll do whatever else and.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
All that kind of stuff. It's easier now for them
for the next year.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Yeah, and for our children a pleasurable experience. If you're
the child of like Johnny Knoxville, maybe not, you know,
like oh my dad, he was that guy who's stuck
his uh balls and a bear trap. You know.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Actually, I would like to talk to any kids of
Johnny Knoxville or Steve O or whatever, seriously, right, like
what was it like?
Speaker 2 (20:14):
That would be very interesting, Peter, you know, that'd be interesting.
How do you go?
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Because I wonder if they would be a total opposite
of that, like very serious a businessman, are.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
They like that?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
I mean, that'd be kind of the whole that would
be very interesting, like how do you guys turn out?
Because we know it's all and we know people are
different in our home. I get that, but by just
I just wonder if they would follow the footsteps. I
go totally just I'm not I'm getting forwarded from that ship.
I'm gonna wa. That's great. I like the at that Peter.
It's very flat that ship. But there's one thing I'm
do want to ask you. The books divide into two parts,
(20:48):
the probably want to part to you and in part one,
and in this book you have all this thing called
the text.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Mm hm.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Talk about that. It's right, so, folks, very interesting.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
It's like it's almost like there's a lesson at the
end of each chapter in between chapters, but not necessarily
a lesson.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
It's like there's one was like a prayer for the dying.
What was this?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Different things in there, but and some of them feel
like you're talking to us as long as you feel
like you're talking within the carriage talks for the characters.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yeah, oh that's very interesting. So tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Well, you know, I think it's it's probably like a
three pronged thing. Number one having come up through the
rooms of aa. We have the Twelve Steps, and we
have the Big Book, and we have our sponsors, and
we have essentially all of these things are pitched to
you as suggestions, not rules, right, not hey do this
(21:45):
and it'll work. You know, there's guarantees, right. And you know,
I'm not the first person to kind of feel like,
once you're in it and living it and it works
for you, it can start to feel like a cult
a bit. And I think, like a lot of people
who are interested in dark fiction and horror, you know,
I'm also fascinated by cults, and I started looking into
(22:06):
cult psychology quite a bit and how they, over time
get you to I'm not gonna say brainwashed, because it's
not exactly that. It's more of like gets you comfortable
existing in this new world, your new section of the world.
And here we are, we're in such a fractured reality
(22:27):
right now as we live and breathe. You know, there
could be somebody that my son thinks is the most
famous person in the world and I have never heard
of that person, right, Yes, And that doesn't mean that
it isn't like God to him, you know what I mean?
So I guess a part of what I was exploring
when I started to write those letters, and then certainly
as I started to think about what this book was
(22:49):
going to be, is like, what was heaven to me?
You know, what did I believe the afterlife would be like?
And I didn't set down or sit down to manifest
the afterlife.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
That I want.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
You know, it's certainly that certainly in fact, now I
actually I saw, you know, you're not supposed to read
your reviews.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
I did see.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I did see a review and it was actually a
three star. Still okay, this person, and God bless them
for reading the book. I mean, I you know, I'm
a big fan, and I'll take all of it. I
read my reviews because I really believe there's probably some
things I could learn from a one star review. But
they did not like Second Plane, you know, which is
(23:35):
the name of the life in the book. Yeah, they
they were. It's funny because they did not like it,
but then they almost kind of understood why it existed
the way I had pitched it. And and I think,
really what I was sort of trying to speak to
is like, I'm somebody who believes in a lot of
different things with no certainty of like which is the
right thing to the point where I often wonder if
(23:59):
you will walk into the thing that you most want
to walk into, you know. And and then also you
should be a little bit weary of that, right, Like
the text is there, you're so in my book you die,
you were handed the text you you were a resident
of an afterlife called second plane. Right, And from the
(24:21):
very get go, this thing is trying to say, hey, here,
here's how it is here. Right, And that parallels what
I think is what we do here in this plane,
which is called prior plane in the book. I'm going
to tell you all of these things. This is the
way it is here. Do not deviate from the way
(24:41):
to you know, rebel. But I mean, you know, this
is the gist. And so I kind of modeled it
after that. And I you know, also, because the book
is so dark, it gave me some It gave me
some room to have a little bit of fun. Some
of it gets a little cheeky, and I mean it's
been interesting to see some people mention the text right away.
(25:03):
And some people have told me they love the book
and talk about the book and they don't even bring
that part up.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
I had to bring it up.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, So and it's funny, and you wonder will somebody
get to the third plane? The third plane is mentioned,
it's like you kind of and there's an answer at
the end. It's an answer. I'm not gonna say it.
I'm gonna read something quick because I like to do this.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
This is.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
The text section eleven, Our Only Prayer. I like this one.
I am, but I am not. I did, but I
am done. I will while I while also won't.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I knew, but no not.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I lived, and I am at peace with those still living.
My toil is for an internal and peaceful existence here.
I am my brother's keeper. Say it aloud, I am
not my brother's keeper. I love that one my favorites.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I have to say, No one's read it aloud to me.
You're the first. Oh wow, And I mean it probably
is a little bit like what an ego on this guy?
But hearing you read it back to me, I'm like,
that's some powerful stuff.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
It is. Well.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
The line that I'm glad get to get to hear
it back to yourself. The line that gets me is
that I knew, but I know not that was like
that because I'm finding as I get older on how
you are I think I'm a smart guy. I mean,
I have some brains, I have some degrees and all
this stuff whatever. But as I get older, I learned
(26:44):
how much I don't know.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I mean, at the end of the day, that is
the prayer that they're suggested to say they're in the afterlife.
But truthfully, that is essentially a version, my version of
the prayer to exist here in a peaceful way.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
We don't know everything. Let that go. You're not going
to know everything. You don't know everything, and it's okay, yeah,
live experience, you know. But I'm sure you know there's
two obviously from Recovery Star, like what do you like?
I learned how to be present. I just read a
blog post about that's coming out on Monday about how
I'm right now. I'm figuring my mom. So I said,
it's I'm very present now. It's very things immediate. Everything
(27:27):
is right now. You can't from the past, you can't
stay in the past, and you can't even look to
the future. Really, you have to stay right here. Is
everything right here?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
I'm with you on that. I am also currently helping
we put my father into a home recently and navigating
medicaid and then oh.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
I got I got files over here. These are all
my mother's files I'm dealing with right now. I'm taking
all the medical stuff.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Yeah, I mean, yeah, So I think I'm going to
read your blog post because that is absolutely right. I
don't think anything is ever that's not exactly true. But
it has a massive ability to put you only in
the present and to be present and to not be
able to look that far forward or you know, spend
(28:21):
any time back. And I mean, you want to feel humbled.
Then it's like, well I thought I knew a lot.
Well I don't know anything and I had to learn
and I'm okay with that. And that's what you were saying,
you know, like I'm just sort of like I am
okay with being wrong. Yeah I wasn't always. You know,
the systems and structures that we sort of grow up
in almost and no matter what profession you take on,
(28:44):
almost train you to never admit that you don't know something.
Always answer quickly, make up something if you have to.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, are you a dummy? Are you smart? I mean, yeah,
you're right always.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, it's a lot I saw I had. I've worked
for many great people in that part of my life
that was advertising, and I worked for a guy his
name was Matt Azleton, and uh, well with him, and
I was blown away that he was the only person
I knew. This is probably like late nineties, early two thousands,
where when we were in a client meeting, if a
(29:20):
client asked him a question and he didn't know the
answer to it, he would say, I don't know the
answer to that, I'll have to get back to you,
Whereas everybody else that I was surrounded by was constantly
just bullshitting, you know. And Uh, anyway, Well.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
I'm a big supporter. I'm a big supporter of surrounding
myself with smart people. I told all the time because
I'm like in my profession, I got justuspression a little
older later in life, so I'm kind of surround by
all these little millennials and gen zs around me.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I love it. I'm like, how do I do this?
What do I do? Over here?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
They've taught me a lot. I have no problem not knowing.
That's good because that even makes you smarter because you
have people around you who are helping you be smart.
That's that's happened to you right there. Who you're surrounded with,
I don't know everything, but you know this, I'll use you.
You know that I know something to you, can you can.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Come to me. That's kind of the point. Yeah, everything
at all.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
But also don't completely abandon your intuition and your gut instinct.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Trust your gut. Yeah, yeah, usually trust your guy. I
tell all the time. I remember, there's times my stomach
trust to hurt. I'm okay, something's wrong.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
We call it, well, me and a few of my
sober friends call it Spidey senses. Something's a little off
about this or that or this person. You know, doesn't
necessarily even mean it's a bad thing. There's just always
you just yeah, yeah, And I think that's uh. I
don't know how prevalent the theme of that is in
(30:48):
the book, but like that is another thing I was
trying to really kind of balance throughout, is like you
have to know when to trust your gut, no matter
what you're told or fed or whether it's the text.
Are somebody you've been assigned or a president, yes.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Exactly, No, your book. No, the characters they're all strong characters,
and you a person the book is strong. That was
one of the things I walked away with. And no
matter who you choose to follow in a book or whatever.
They're all strong characters, maybe some strong and some crazy,
maybe some strong in this, but they're strong. So I
(31:28):
kind of want to know from you because a gain
going in between the pages, how did you come up
with this world? But I know you, I know I
know the in participate how you started, But I'm kind
of like, how did you make eachy because I'm sure
you probably did you write out the characters first and
then go from there, or it's this more story driven
where you kind of the characters came to you, Like,
(31:50):
how did that?
Speaker 2 (31:50):
How'd that process work for you?
Speaker 3 (31:53):
I think in this particular instance that I had in
mind the premise, right, so I knew, I knew the
body count that I needed. Okay, I was like, well,
obviously I need the parents, and I've got the son,
and then I need the people that the son is
being left with, and and maybe you know one or
two other uh right on the side. And as I
(32:15):
started to develop them, I didn't have to work too hard. No,
no one character is based on any specific.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Person, ok Okay.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
In fact, I mean I you know, I often wonder
if and when people start reading it, if they'll as
readers so often do They'll be like, oh, clearly Peter
is tag not really okay, maybe you know I might
be Amanda. I don't really know, right, yeah, right, that's right.
I mean I'm not Aiden, I know.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
That, but but but I'll think you are you are?
Speaker 3 (32:51):
I saw. I had the pleasure of seeing Ali Wilkes,
who I love. She's a great author out of the UK,
and she was about her book Where the Dead Weight,
and someone asked her a similar question, well not exactly,
but had asked her, what of this book is you whatever?
And she had said, I have to sometimes be away
(33:13):
from a book for about a year to really know
where I am in the book. And I thought, wow,
that is so cool. Because in the process of doing this,
when it came around to doing the very final pass
and I had to reread the whole book again and
make sure that I was happy with everything, and only
then did I start to really see, Oh see, how
(33:35):
I see? This is the thing I was negotiating at
that time, and it made it into this character. So
some of me is in every character. Well, yeah, some
of the best people I've ever known and some of
the worst people I've ever known are in the characters.
And you know, I didn't live in Park Slope, which
is obviously where some of the characters are.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I know that area, so I know, but I spent a.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Lot of time there and I had a lot of
friends there, and that certainly informed it.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
I don't think this is one of those books where
like the location is also a character. But if you
are somebody who's familiar with park Slope, then I think
you get a sense of like what the characters are
dealing with for having been in park Slope, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
So my my grand my grandparents. So my mother is
from Spanish and Spanish Harlem, so it's just like one
hundred and first of Lexingtons.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
She was over there.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Then her parents divorced and my grandfather moved to Brooklyn,
which back in the day you didn't do that. It
was before Brooklyn was all fancy, spancy and all that.
It was like with even Calves and go to Brooklyn
if you were a man out it was. It was
the whole thing about that. It was really true, folks.
So I took the f train to go to fordy
Amilton Parkway station and they were there for years and
now it's called Kensington but it's a new.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Name, but it was.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
It's basically Park Slope Prospect Park because it's around the
corner from Prospect Parks, like literally around the corner Ocean Avenue.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
So I know when you do, I say, you're right.
It wasn't a care turn the book. But I knew.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
I was like, oh, yeah, I know what that is,
or I know that sounds familiar, like I know that
whole the whole area. So anyway, so I did recognize that. So,
but you're right, it's not one of those like some books,
some stories it becomes the fifth lady or the fifth
character or whatever. It's not that pronounced. But it's not
Los Angeles. It's not Chicago, like just use your idea.
It's not.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Probably every city and even every minor town has its
part of town that is the slope of the town.
There's just certain attitudes and you know, a certain type
of uh, busy body vibe kind of thing, the people
in each other's business.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Yes, that was right.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Yes, I get a sense of that. And then if
you are you know, if you are somebody who spent
any time in Brooklyn or New York City, then it's
almost like an easter egg I guess to an extent
because you're you're then maybe feeling that, you know, in
a more real way where it's like, I remember that idea.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
I know, I agree with that idea. It's like, because
New York is a very dense place. It's a small island.
It's very dense. These five boroughs are in there. I
just lived at San Francisco for sixteen years. There's another
dense island or potencil like island, lots of people on
top of each other. It's very interesting places to live.
And you get that kind of it's a big city
(36:25):
but small town feel sometimes in certain pockets, right, And
that's where you get that very much.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
I'm like, you said, that's good, So I'm gad to that. Yeah.
So there's these are planes that.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
He describes in the book, folks, and so you're wondering
if someone is going to make it to that that
third plane. That fu that's really interesting. I'm giving that
away either. When you describe the book to people, as
I can talk to you forever, but obviously gotta wrap
this up. And again, it's such a great book. Congratulations.
(37:00):
What do you ascribe the book to people? What do
you say? Because everybody has I can describe a book, thinks,
but what you're the author, You're you're the you're the
father of this book.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
What do you what say you? Somebody says, what's your
book about?
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Well, you know, it's it's somewhat depends on who the
audience is, who's asking. I have tried to find in
this age of short attention spans. Yeah, what can I say?
It's gonna you know, have you take a chance on
this person. You've never heard of, this author, you don't
know from Adam So. I mean, I've said from time
(37:37):
to time it's like it's a possession novel. But for
the whole family.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You know, that's pretty good. That's pretty good. I like that, Peter,
that's pretty good. I like that.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
I do think that that my there is possession in
the book, and that's not a secret. I think it's
on the flap copy. Yeah, and uh, and I think
it's a very unique approach at possession that dabbles in
some things. So there's that. Most of the time, I
just say, look, I kind of tell them what I
(38:08):
told you at the front. I'm like, you know, in
twenty sixteen, I thought I was going to die and
I started writing my son love letters, and then all
of a sudden I had this idea of like, wait
a minute, if we both die, who's he? Who are
we leaving them with good friends? Who are they? Do
we know them at all? And then that question of
(38:29):
just like if you knew where you were in heaven,
whatever that looks like for you, was better than the
life your child, whether it be boy, girl or otherwise
here on earth, would you kill them to bring them
to heaven to reunite your family? And I say that,
and I mean most of the time people's face just
is like, sure, what did you just say?
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (38:53):
And I mean it's dark, you know, and it's interesting.
Like my editor, the editor who I ended up working
with with Crooked Lane Books, Thank you Crooked Lane Books,
Thank you just Urday for you know, making this happen,
which in and of itself is its own kind of
magical story. But what I really liked about her take
(39:14):
after reading the manuscript was she was just like, this
is an insanely dark book, but it still offers hope.
You know, you still yeah and uh, and that you
know that's something that I think I have to work
better into my own pitch, right, because I tend to
focus on like, this is what it's about, and then
(39:36):
I probably finished with that. You know this mother wants
to kill her son and bring him to the afterlife,
and it's too much, it's too much for me. Well
now I'm like, it's a possession novel for the whole family.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Well, I you know this, I'm saying it out loud,
streaming service something, this could be. This could be a series,
a book, a movie. Something I'm saying out loud. I
think it'd be great. I think it'd be wonderful.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Uh. I have to ask.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I always ask folks when it's a good book like this, sequels,
spin off anything, thinking.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
Or are we done? It's just it's good for now.
As you think about this right now, you know I.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
Can't see doing a sequel, but I do. I would
really love the opportunity to turn it into a series
because there's some places where I could go with it.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Oh, I totally with the right actors.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Yeah, with the whole plane craft sequence could be amazing.
First of all, because you're talking through it and everything
that it could be an amazing and it's annual the babies.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
If I could vision it, envision it and.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
I think getting some you know, you get a little
bit of a taste of the histories of the characters
throughout the book and where they came from in their
own trauma that formed them and shape them. But I
think it would be I think I could go deep
into that. But in terms of the next thing I'm doing,
I'm actually working on a new my my next manuscript,
which I hope will be the next published book.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Uh is.
Speaker 3 (41:08):
Actually this is how I'm billing this one. It's the
hero story my mother deserves. And I'll leave you with that.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
Well, Peter, you have to come back when that book
comes out. You have to come back on the show.
You have an invitation of the show anytime.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Peter.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Thank you. That's amazing. I appreciate that. I've enjoyed talking
to you so much. I mean I could just shoot
to shoot the crap with you, probably for another two hours.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Who's gonna watch a five hour podcast.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
So one, no one?
Speaker 2 (41:34):
I know that. Yeah, but you have to come back sometimes.
It'd be great.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
So we have your next book, come back, we'll talk
about I'll read it and we'll talk about it. Uh
is the guy he is on all of platforms. We
all following each other on Instagram. So what I'm gonna
do is also gonna send you my blog post from
today that I did everybody likes, and then you'll see.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
The one on Monday, so you'll have it. You'll like,
and you'll like.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
Both of them.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
But he's but he's a Peter Roach dot com. So
everybody at home who's listening, that's p e t E
R r So's two rs O s h O s
c H. I'm I did already, So that's what we
do again. P E t E r So Peter and
then Roach r O s c H dot com. I'll
put in a description.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Of course.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
He's on Blue Sky, he's on threads, he's on Facebook,
he's on Instagrams, he's on the Gram, he's every where.
He's going to be just like I am. Andrea Pages
on Facebook. Well, I'll marry word to you, James log.
Let me want TikTok. That's a kind of TikTok star.
I know what's going over there. People like my content,
so check me out and take it. Check us both out.
(42:37):
Help the old guys check us both outs.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
Yeah, yeah, help the old guys out out like that.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
We're vital. We still got stuff.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Come on now and run out and get the book.
I'm telling you, guys, I think you really enjoy it.
Thanks for joining us. We're here every Thursday. We will
see you next week with the new book.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
Thank you.
So yo, folks. I read a lot of books. I
love books. Books are not going nowhere. Books are in
I be people, whether you're doing it audible or or
have a handheld copy, people are reading books. And I
just I think it's just so much fun to take
you out of her where you are today to go
somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
It's the cheapest way to travel. I always say, right,
we can in between pages with James lot Junior. You
know who I am. I'm James Latini here on jailj Media,
and you know I find the most interesting books. And
this book is something else. Kids, I'll tell you something.
It starts with a plane crash. Okay, folks, you got
like six pages of plane crash happening, and then it
goes to this whole other thing that's like it's like
(00:42):
there's I was talking before we got the show. There's
like power struggles and this person's as like the kind
of secrets, and then.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Then this person sides the baby is mine, and I mean,
I just all kinds of stuff going on.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
There's all stuff kind of going on, and there's folks
after plane crash, watching what's going on from above. It's
all it's like metaphysical. It's real life. It's a mess
in a good way. It's called well you can see
if you watch it. I said, I can't do it
what the dad can do? I can't like Which way
do I turn? Which way I turn? If you're listening,
(01:13):
is called with the dad gad. I'm making my guests laugh.
Let me tell you who he is. Take you my
best voice in He's the author of multiple dark fictions,
dark fiction. I didn't realize that born from various addictions,
he's chased while living in New York City as an
award winning writer and creative director. We love, we take
(01:34):
our lives, determined into into art. I love that he's
been He's many years sober now congratulations, But now he
remains an addicts addict that says it is that, it
says in his bio. Is this his debut novel? Or
as my aunt says, the wut he grew up in
the Southwest. I said, I think you lived in New
York for the every twenty years, so you know he's
(01:54):
hard to the New York. Out of New York now
that is there, but now reside somewhere, he says, somewhere
between Austin and San Antonio and a place called Wimberly, Texas.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
They're heading for him.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
I like Austin, I like San Antonio, where he works
as an author, freelance creative director, copywriter and advertising. And
he says, and I believe this completely. Most importantly a
full time dad. There are good dads out there and
fathers they just passed when as we're recording this, help me.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Welcome Peter Roache.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Hi, Peter, Hello, Hello to you, and hello to everyone.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yes, and I told him earlier I love his voice.
You have a great smile. I love your voice.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
All that.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
So okay, congratulations on the book number one. Putting to
a book together is sometimes part magic, lots of determination,
many rewrites and edits in the process, so I always
feel like we really do give birth to a book.
(02:56):
So I this is calling between the pages. My first
question to you, how do you feel about it?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I feel very good about this book. I feel very
good about the process. I think you're right. I guess
if people are writing books now with AI, maybe it's
not quite as painful. I know, Anti Ai, and for
a host of reasons, thank you. Yeah. I mean if
(03:24):
you're thinking about it out there, you're cheating yourself. That's
all I'll say. There's no growth with that. And honestly,
I mean a book like this one as an example.
It's like, you know, I hatched to this idea in
twenty sixteen, and here it is twenty twenty five coming out,
and it's it's those long pauses in between that are
(03:46):
you know, are the gift really that has left at
what it is and what you're holding in your hand
there behind you. Yes, And I wouldn't trade that for
the world, you know. I mean, it's it's cliche, like,
it's not the destination, it's the journey, right. But I
went through a lot while writing this book. In fact,
it started in a very odd place for me because
(04:08):
I certain I had written and self published some books prior,
some novellas, but this one actually started out in twenty sixteen.
My son was two, and I became unreasonably convinced that
I was going to die that year. Prematurely. Yeah, I
(04:29):
had no reason to think that other than I had
been a smoker for a long time trying to quit smoking.
It just there's a great line about ideas from the
movie Inception I don't know it offhand, but it's like
an ida and it takes hold and I don't know.
You know, I went to the doctor, different doctors, probably
(04:50):
three or four times, and they're like, you're fine, just
quit smoking, you'll be all right. But I was so
convinced I actually started. I was one of those guys.
I'm sure this is true many many parents, but like,
I fell in love with my son so fast, and uh,
I just saw he was like so cool and he
was all righty even at two he was he was
a pretty I guess I've come to learn that he
(05:11):
was actually a pretty verbal and animated character for two.
And I had all this stuff that I was like,
I gotta, I gotta, I gotta tell you all these things.
But if I die, I won't be able to so
I uh, I started to write him letters and uh.
And that was the unexpected start of this book actually,
(05:31):
because while I was doing that, I I had kind
of the core premise for this book came to my
mind where it was like, if you, well, I don't
know if I'm getting ahead. I think I answered your question.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
You're doing great, go ahead, please, Well.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
You know we had uh, we had tried to do
everything by the book right, uh. And part of that
was picking somebody to be the legal guardian of our
son should anything happen to us, both simultaneous a car
crash or whatever. We picked very good friends that I
had known since seventh grade, trusted. Obviously there's still technically
(06:11):
the ones that would be given my body. And but
I wondered after doing it, I was like, do I
really know who they are?
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
You know, because to a certain extent, we all wear masks,
even even with our close friends and family. I mean,
we're acting and uh. And then I also, I, you know,
you mentioned it starts with a plane crash. I as
a drunk person, as an alcoholic, and as a person
in recovery. I hate flying. I do not enjoy it.
(06:46):
I really fear it. And I thought, wow, wouldn't it
be crazy if body was survived? And then from heaven heaven,
we h we could see that the you know, the
couple that we were leaving them with, weren't who we
thought they were. And and it was actually so bad
(07:09):
that you thought it would be better to kill your child.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
And I was so fed up.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
But I read about like, dang, it's like you left
them in the care of eth and the and that's
not They're not exactly what you thought they was.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, not you the characters, Uh tag them they didn't.
They weren't. They weren't when they thought they.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Was right and so and then when that came to
my mind, I was like, well, we'll have to be
the mother. I need to write this as the mother.
And I was actually just talking about this. I did
a brief reading at Stoker Con this past weekend, Yes
and and I was talking about the challenge of the
one of the you know, the main mother character in
this is Amanda, Yes, and could I write that? Uh?
(07:51):
And I felt confident that I could because I've always
considered myself a dad and a mother. You know, I
was very fortunate that when my I was young, I
was already freelancing. I got to spend a lot of time.
My wife worked full time pretty much from when he
was one on. So I felt okay about that, but
it was still I was really attracted to the challenge of, like,
(08:13):
can I write a maternal a believable maternal character, and
then and then get your hooked long enough to be like, oh, damn, yes,
am I rooting for her?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Oh yes, I won't get away either.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
But oh yes, as I was saying, it's nott of
twists and turns in here, you're like, oh, oh, I
kind of like you think at a certain page, you're like, oh,
she's doing that. Okay, Oh she feels that way. Okay, Yes,
it gives, it gives kind of dark funds which ones.
You know that, And I get it a good and
a good reading sort of way. Yes, but I want
(08:49):
to go back for a second because this is caught
it between the pages. We go in between, and first
of all, I'm glad. I'm glad you're sober in your recovery.
I'm glad for yourself. I come from family many and
rep recovery. You know aways say you always say happy
birthday when you have them as you're doing, you have
your your year and all stuff. What now I have
(09:10):
children too, I have daughters, I have grandchildren. Are you
saying you fell in love with your son? It was
we always tell my daughter on her birthday how I
fell in love with her. I said, you know, you're
you're in your mother's stomach or you know wi's been
a nurse something like. I usually get a little more
graphic that you were in your mother's dad and you know,
make a bigger laugh and said when you came out,
because I was there when she I was there when
she was when she was born. Were you there when
(09:32):
your son was born? Yeah? So isn't there something? It's
first of all, First of all, birth is not pretty cruel.
That's my body does not doesn't want to monticize all that.
But the part that is beautiful, I think, clean up
a little bit, and they hand them to you, and
but first my hand to the mother first. But then
(09:53):
it was like, okay, your turned dad or whatever. I
did fall in love. I told her, I felt I
fell head over heel. And I want to ask you
can I still this is my daughter's on wast forty,
that's how old she is, and I still can't really
describe it fully.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Can you describe that feeling when you saw when you
held your so you saw your son the first time
and held him, and I can't fully describe. I can
describe it kind of, but it's otherworldly to me. It's
different than anything else.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
It It is a connection and a feeling that is
so hard to describe, you know, And that's probably a
big part of why I set out to write the
book because you know, I usually finish up when I
when I've had the opportunity to talk about the book
by saying that on the whole, what this book is,
at the end of the day is a published love
(10:46):
letter to my son, because that that is where it
all comes from, is that feeling and just that desire
to not ever be away from him, you know, and
to do everything. But therein lies the thing, right, I mean,
I think a big part of it is like you
can only to you could do as much as you
(11:08):
can do to a point. But you know, you and
I were just talking about the eighties and how we
came up and that you got to let go. And
I'm parenting in the age of like heavy helicopter you know,
restrictions and kids, you know, barely leaving the house unattended
until they're twenty one.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Right, right, Yes, it's very different.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Hell, so I think there's a you know, part of
the theme that's running through the book is like, you know,
we we think we always know best for our kid,
but when when does what we know best actually become
the danger and the problem?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, how have you been able to balance your sobriety
with parenthood.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Well, it hasn't been hard because everything that I do
starts with my sobriety. I you know, I it took
me a long time to get sober. I tried a
few times prior to it sticking, and I was one
of those drunks and an addict that was you know,
it was actually get sober or die. I mean, I
was pretty close. And I'm really just so grateful that
(12:20):
that it worked out. And obviously I had I played
a role in that. My higher power played a role
in that, you know. And by the time I guess,
I guess I had about five years, maybe even six
when my son was born, So I was pretty set,
you know, and I wasn't I wasn't that worried about it.
(12:41):
I think now, you know, if there's anything I worry about,
it's just I do believe that alcoholism and drug addiction
addictions in general are genetic. I do think it also
skips a lot of generations, and so I probably spend
not a lot of time, but unnecessary every time wondering like, oh,
(13:02):
is that similar to the way that I behaved when
I was eleven? Because I I'm somebody who believes you're
you're born an addict. You know that we certainly are
outside forces that contribute to it, and even in my
own journey, but in terms of parenting, I think it
left me like really good at it. I just combat
myself on the back, I you know. I mean my
(13:26):
wife would tell you like I I think she actually
at times despises me for how even keel I am
and how it takes a lot too. It takes a
lot to get me off balance.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
You know we're seeing right that way. I don't. I'm
not a panicker. I'm not.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I'm also outside some other parents on another show we
were doing and we were laughing about, well, James, were
you a yeller? I don't know. I never yelled. I
have a deep voice so I could drop a couple
octaves yea too. And my girls were like they were
going to line by. Is that never really have to
I never had to scream and yell. I mean their
mother did that, but I didn't do that. I think,
(14:02):
like you, I was very much like, well, I've I
did it all as a kids, so you can't really
surprised me. Nothing tell me and I mean, just like, well,
handle what happens. And that's kind of my that was
kind of my thoughts, like I was had handle what happens, you.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Know, Yeah, that's all you can do. Really, I say
to my son all the time. I'm just like, look,
I'm not saying you shouldn't be disappointed or angry or whatever.
Let let's move through that feeling and and and I'll
give you time to do it. But at the end
of the day, you just have to say, Okay, what's
the next right step. You know, I'm going to figure
out how to handle this thing that's in front of me.
(14:36):
And we've certainly had our share of you know, every person.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Well, kids push boundaries. That's that's their whole point. That's
what you're supposed to do. That's how it's always funny.
I always laugh my girls now they have two daughters.
They team upon me all the time, and I like,
for like for fun, and I'm like, you know, I
know I raisedly be strong, independent, mouthy women, but don't
usually gets me.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I'm a good one. Laugh.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
And we have the time about that because I did help,
which we do right. We raise our kids to be
functioning members of society hopefully, and then sometimes you see
yourself in them and you're like, oh that's me, Oh
my god, it's me, Oh my god. And it's reflect
it's a mirror, obviously, it reflects right back to you.
So yes, so I do understand that absolutely, And I
(15:21):
want to ask you do you have did you actually
when you were you said you want to start writing letters?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And you said, do you actually have letters to him?
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Yeah, I have them. I'm not what you thoughts were
you going to do with those?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
It's like twenty's eighteen, or like hold on to him
for I make a book out of it one day.
I don't know. I'm very curious about that. I like
that idea.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
That is a good question, you know. I I've I've
held on to them. I'm the only one who's seen them. Okay,
not even my wife has read them. I hadn't really
given it a whole lot of thought. That you bring
up a very interesting point. I suppose. I suppose at
some point I might ask him if he's interested in
reading them, you know, and maybe I'll give them to
(16:03):
him in a way that he can look at him
when he wants, not like, let's sit down and read
the letters that.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I write.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Exactly right now. That's why why I'm like, but just
I'm a person. I'm a fan. I like tradition, I
like symbolism. I'm a softie for that. Maybe this big
six foot, three hundred pound guy, but I'm a big
softie inside. Maybe everybody's fun of me for that because
I like, I like, I like kind of that passing
down of something, because I'm at that stage right now.
(16:32):
I'm losing parents. I'm losing I have no grandparents left.
I'm losing on gus like, I'm kind of losing folks now.
So I'm becoming the patriarch kind of the family. I
would have loved to have something for from this person
or that person, and they're gone now.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
I mean, yeah, well, I will just tell you real,
real briefly, I don't remember. I think it was about
ten twelve. It was before my son was born, and
I don't remember what got into me. I think I
was actually telling my wife a story about my father
when he was younger, and I was curious about the
details if I was getting the and so I actually
(17:08):
just reached out to my dad, who at the time
probably was seventy two, and I said, hey, would you
mind writing me a short biography of your life? And
I didn't know if he would say yes or no,
or if it would be a page or what. Right,
Ultimately it was probably about eight pages printed out, and
it was pretty good. It was pretty detailed. It filled
(17:30):
in some blanks for me now kucked in. There is
not life lessons per se like you and I were
maybe kind of alluding to. But it really still was
a powerful moment for me where I was like, it's
one thing to hear these things, it was another thing
to have it to reference, you know. And I have
(17:50):
told people that story from time to time and I'm like,
you know, if your folks are still alive, ask him
and you know, maybe another way to go. It's just
occurring to me as we talk about it, is like, hey, uh,
why don't you write me ten things you think I
should remember going forward, you know, just to have And
that is somewhat what what the letters are that I
(18:11):
wrote to my son. You know, I just wanted him
to to haven't if I died. Yeah, I think now
he has a pretty good sense of right, but even
so at that moment, I really just wanted him to
have some framework of who his father was and what
he believed in. And I wasn't like thinking it would
(18:32):
shape him from beyond the grave or you know, anything
like that. But you know, in some in some respects,
we do these things for ourselves too, you know, and
certainly gave me peace. I didn't realize it at the time,
you know, I have a good friend. Recently it was like,
it's amazing you used writing to work through those feelings.
And I was like, is that what I was doing?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Yeah? Maybe maybe right, I guess. So I'll tell you something.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I recorded my oldest aunt of my grandmother's side family,
and event I have those recordings.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
She died two years later. I have those.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
I dec I would do it to gift for the family,
but I have them. I have like like eight hours
of tape. We just talked about their lives and I
did that. Some told me to do that, and she
was open to it. She loved talking about it, so
we talked about it.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
So I have it.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
That's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
But one of the things that you and I are
doing before we're wanting to book up back to the book, well,
you and I are doing now. Anyway, anything we record,
whether it's audio video, it's for our kids. They can
go to it a time now my grandkids only know
me as a person on television, our person. So now
if I drop dead tomorrow, they can always look at
Papa Jamie anytime they want you because I have a channel.
(19:38):
And I thought that, I said, that's kind of my
legacy on some level. But that's for all of us.
Anything anybody does, anything digital or video, we can now
look at you know. Now you can go, okay, we're
all my digital for my grandparents are all a little
film pieces and I'll do whatever else and.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
All that kind of stuff. It's easier now for them
for the next year.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Yeah, and for our children a pleasurable experience. If you're
the child of like Johnny Knoxville, maybe not, you know,
like oh my dad, he was that guy who's stuck
his uh balls and a bear trap. You know.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Actually, I would like to talk to any kids of
Johnny Knoxville or Steve O or whatever, seriously, right, like
what was it like?
Speaker 2 (20:14):
That would be very interesting, Peter, you know, that'd be interesting.
How do you go?
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Because I wonder if they would be a total opposite
of that, like very serious a businessman, are.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
They like that?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
I mean, that'd be kind of the whole that would
be very interesting, like how do you guys turn out?
Because we know it's all and we know people are
different in our home. I get that, but by just
I just wonder if they would follow the footsteps. I
go totally just I'm not I'm getting forwarded from that ship.
I'm gonna wa. That's great. I like the at that Peter.
It's very flat that ship. But there's one thing I'm
do want to ask you. The books divide into two parts,
(20:48):
the probably want to part to you and in part one,
and in this book you have all this thing called
the text.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Mm hm.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Talk about that. It's right, so, folks, very interesting.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
It's like it's almost like there's a lesson at the
end of each chapter in between chapters, but not necessarily
a lesson.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
It's like there's one was like a prayer for the dying.
What was this?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Different things in there, but and some of them feel
like you're talking to us as long as you feel
like you're talking within the carriage talks for the characters.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yeah, oh that's very interesting. So tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Well, you know, I think it's it's probably like a
three pronged thing. Number one having come up through the
rooms of aa. We have the Twelve Steps, and we
have the Big Book, and we have our sponsors, and
we have essentially all of these things are pitched to
you as suggestions, not rules, right, not hey do this
(21:45):
and it'll work. You know, there's guarantees, right. And you know,
I'm not the first person to kind of feel like,
once you're in it and living it and it works
for you, it can start to feel like a cult
a bit. And I think, like a lot of people
who are interested in dark fiction and horror, you know,
I'm also fascinated by cults, and I started looking into
(22:06):
cult psychology quite a bit and how they, over time
get you to I'm not gonna say brainwashed, because it's
not exactly that. It's more of like gets you comfortable
existing in this new world, your new section of the world.
And here we are, we're in such a fractured reality
(22:27):
right now as we live and breathe. You know, there
could be somebody that my son thinks is the most
famous person in the world and I have never heard
of that person, right, Yes, And that doesn't mean that
it isn't like God to him, you know what I mean?
So I guess a part of what I was exploring
when I started to write those letters, and then certainly
as I started to think about what this book was
(22:49):
going to be, is like, what was heaven to me?
You know, what did I believe the afterlife would be like?
And I didn't set down or sit down to manifest
the afterlife.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
That I want.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
You know, it's certainly that certainly in fact, now I
actually I saw, you know, you're not supposed to read
your reviews.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
I did see.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I did see a review and it was actually a
three star. Still okay, this person, and God bless them
for reading the book. I mean, I you know, I'm
a big fan, and I'll take all of it. I
read my reviews because I really believe there's probably some
things I could learn from a one star review. But
they did not like Second Plane, you know, which is
(23:35):
the name of the life in the book. Yeah, they
they were. It's funny because they did not like it,
but then they almost kind of understood why it existed
the way I had pitched it. And and I think,
really what I was sort of trying to speak to
is like, I'm somebody who believes in a lot of
different things with no certainty of like which is the
right thing to the point where I often wonder if
(23:59):
you will walk into the thing that you most want
to walk into, you know. And and then also you
should be a little bit weary of that, right, Like
the text is there, you're so in my book you die,
you were handed the text you you were a resident
of an afterlife called second plane. Right, And from the
(24:21):
very get go, this thing is trying to say, hey, here,
here's how it is here. Right, And that parallels what
I think is what we do here in this plane,
which is called prior plane in the book. I'm going
to tell you all of these things. This is the
way it is here. Do not deviate from the way
(24:41):
to you know, rebel. But I mean, you know, this
is the gist. And so I kind of modeled it
after that. And I you know, also, because the book
is so dark, it gave me some It gave me
some room to have a little bit of fun. Some
of it gets a little cheeky, and I mean it's
been interesting to see some people mention the text right away.
(25:03):
And some people have told me they love the book
and talk about the book and they don't even bring
that part up.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
I had to bring it up.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, So and it's funny, and you wonder will somebody
get to the third plane? The third plane is mentioned,
it's like you kind of and there's an answer at
the end. It's an answer. I'm not gonna say it.
I'm gonna read something quick because I like to do this.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
This is.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
The text section eleven, Our Only Prayer. I like this one.
I am, but I am not. I did, but I
am done. I will while I while also won't.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I knew, but no not.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I lived, and I am at peace with those still living.
My toil is for an internal and peaceful existence here.
I am my brother's keeper. Say it aloud, I am
not my brother's keeper. I love that one my favorites.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I have to say, No one's read it aloud to me.
You're the first. Oh wow, And I mean it probably
is a little bit like what an ego on this guy?
But hearing you read it back to me, I'm like,
that's some powerful stuff.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
It is. Well.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
The line that I'm glad get to get to hear
it back to yourself. The line that gets me is
that I knew, but I know not that was like
that because I'm finding as I get older on how
you are I think I'm a smart guy. I mean,
I have some brains, I have some degrees and all
this stuff whatever. But as I get older, I learned
(26:44):
how much I don't know.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I mean, at the end of the day, that is
the prayer that they're suggested to say they're in the afterlife.
But truthfully, that is essentially a version, my version of
the prayer to exist here in a peaceful way.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
We don't know everything. Let that go. You're not going
to know everything. You don't know everything, and it's okay, yeah,
live experience, you know. But I'm sure you know there's
two obviously from Recovery Star, like what do you like?
I learned how to be present. I just read a
blog post about that's coming out on Monday about how
I'm right now. I'm figuring my mom. So I said,
it's I'm very present now. It's very things immediate. Everything
(27:27):
is right now. You can't from the past, you can't
stay in the past, and you can't even look to
the future. Really, you have to stay right here. Is
everything right here?
Speaker 3 (27:37):
I'm with you on that. I am also currently helping
we put my father into a home recently and navigating
medicaid and then oh.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
I got I got files over here. These are all
my mother's files I'm dealing with right now. I'm taking
all the medical stuff.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Yeah, I mean, yeah, So I think I'm going to
read your blog post because that is absolutely right. I
don't think anything is ever that's not exactly true. But
it has a massive ability to put you only in
the present and to be present and to not be
able to look that far forward or you know, spend
(28:21):
any time back. And I mean, you want to feel humbled.
Then it's like, well I thought I knew a lot.
Well I don't know anything and I had to learn
and I'm okay with that. And that's what you were saying,
you know, like I'm just sort of like I am
okay with being wrong. Yeah I wasn't always. You know,
the systems and structures that we sort of grow up
in almost and no matter what profession you take on,
(28:44):
almost train you to never admit that you don't know something.
Always answer quickly, make up something if you have to.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, are you a dummy? Are you smart? I mean, yeah,
you're right always.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, it's a lot I saw I had. I've worked
for many great people in that part of my life
that was advertising, and I worked for a guy his
name was Matt Azleton, and uh, well with him, and
I was blown away that he was the only person
I knew. This is probably like late nineties, early two thousands,
where when we were in a client meeting, if a
(29:20):
client asked him a question and he didn't know the
answer to it, he would say, I don't know the
answer to that, I'll have to get back to you,
Whereas everybody else that I was surrounded by was constantly
just bullshitting, you know. And Uh, anyway, Well.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
I'm a big supporter. I'm a big supporter of surrounding
myself with smart people. I told all the time because
I'm like in my profession, I got justuspression a little
older later in life, so I'm kind of surround by
all these little millennials and gen zs around me.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I love it. I'm like, how do I do this?
What do I do? Over here?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
They've taught me a lot. I have no problem not knowing.
That's good because that even makes you smarter because you
have people around you who are helping you be smart.
That's that's happened to you right there. Who you're surrounded with,
I don't know everything, but you know this, I'll use you.
You know that I know something to you, can you can.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Come to me. That's kind of the point. Yeah, everything
at all.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
But also don't completely abandon your intuition and your gut instinct.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Trust your gut. Yeah, yeah, usually trust your guy. I
tell all the time. I remember, there's times my stomach
trust to hurt. I'm okay, something's wrong.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
We call it, well, me and a few of my
sober friends call it Spidey senses. Something's a little off
about this or that or this person. You know, doesn't
necessarily even mean it's a bad thing. There's just always
you just yeah, yeah, And I think that's uh. I
don't know how prevalent the theme of that is in
(30:48):
the book, but like that is another thing I was
trying to really kind of balance throughout, is like you
have to know when to trust your gut, no matter
what you're told or fed or whether it's the text.
Are somebody you've been assigned or a president, yes.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Exactly, No, your book. No, the characters they're all strong characters,
and you a person the book is strong. That was
one of the things I walked away with. And no
matter who you choose to follow in a book or whatever.
They're all strong characters, maybe some strong and some crazy,
maybe some strong in this, but they're strong. So I
(31:28):
kind of want to know from you because a gain
going in between the pages, how did you come up
with this world? But I know you, I know I
know the in participate how you started, But I'm kind
of like, how did you make eachy because I'm sure
you probably did you write out the characters first and
then go from there, or it's this more story driven
where you kind of the characters came to you, Like,
(31:50):
how did that?
Speaker 2 (31:50):
How'd that process work for you?
Speaker 3 (31:53):
I think in this particular instance that I had in
mind the premise, right, so I knew, I knew the
body count that I needed. Okay, I was like, well,
obviously I need the parents, and I've got the son,
and then I need the people that the son is
being left with, and and maybe you know one or
two other uh right on the side. And as I
(32:15):
started to develop them, I didn't have to work too hard. No,
no one character is based on any specific.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Person, ok Okay.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
In fact, I mean I you know, I often wonder
if and when people start reading it, if they'll as
readers so often do They'll be like, oh, clearly Peter
is tag not really okay, maybe you know I might
be Amanda. I don't really know, right, yeah, right, that's right.
I mean I'm not Aiden, I know.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
That, but but but I'll think you are you are?
Speaker 3 (32:51):
I saw. I had the pleasure of seeing Ali Wilkes,
who I love. She's a great author out of the UK,
and she was about her book Where the Dead Weight,
and someone asked her a similar question, well not exactly,
but had asked her, what of this book is you whatever?
And she had said, I have to sometimes be away
(33:13):
from a book for about a year to really know
where I am in the book. And I thought, wow,
that is so cool. Because in the process of doing this,
when it came around to doing the very final pass
and I had to reread the whole book again and
make sure that I was happy with everything, and only
then did I start to really see, Oh see, how
(33:35):
I see? This is the thing I was negotiating at
that time, and it made it into this character. So
some of me is in every character. Well, yeah, some
of the best people I've ever known and some of
the worst people I've ever known are in the characters.
And you know, I didn't live in Park Slope, which
is obviously where some of the characters are.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I know that area, so I know, but I spent a.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Lot of time there and I had a lot of
friends there, and that certainly informed it.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
I don't think this is one of those books where
like the location is also a character. But if you
are somebody who's familiar with park Slope, then I think
you get a sense of like what the characters are
dealing with for having been in park Slope, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
So my my grand my grandparents. So my mother is
from Spanish and Spanish Harlem, so it's just like one
hundred and first of Lexingtons.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
She was over there.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Then her parents divorced and my grandfather moved to Brooklyn,
which back in the day you didn't do that. It
was before Brooklyn was all fancy, spancy and all that.
It was like with even Calves and go to Brooklyn
if you were a man out it was. It was
the whole thing about that. It was really true, folks.
So I took the f train to go to fordy
Amilton Parkway station and they were there for years and
now it's called Kensington but it's a new.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Name, but it was.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
It's basically Park Slope Prospect Park because it's around the
corner from Prospect Parks, like literally around the corner Ocean Avenue.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
So I know when you do, I say, you're right.
It wasn't a care turn the book. But I knew.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
I was like, oh, yeah, I know what that is,
or I know that sounds familiar, like I know that
whole the whole area. So anyway, so I did recognize that. So,
but you're right, it's not one of those like some books,
some stories it becomes the fifth lady or the fifth
character or whatever. It's not that pronounced. But it's not
Los Angeles. It's not Chicago, like just use your idea.
It's not.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Probably every city and even every minor town has its
part of town that is the slope of the town.
There's just certain attitudes and you know, a certain type
of uh, busy body vibe kind of thing, the people
in each other's business.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Yes, that was right.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Yes, I get a sense of that. And then if
you are you know, if you are somebody who spent
any time in Brooklyn or New York City, then it's
almost like an easter egg I guess to an extent
because you're you're then maybe feeling that, you know, in
a more real way where it's like, I remember that idea.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
I know, I agree with that idea. It's like, because
New York is a very dense place. It's a small island.
It's very dense. These five boroughs are in there. I
just lived at San Francisco for sixteen years. There's another
dense island or potencil like island, lots of people on
top of each other. It's very interesting places to live.
And you get that kind of it's a big city
(36:25):
but small town feel sometimes in certain pockets, right, And
that's where you get that very much.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
I'm like, you said, that's good, So I'm gad to that. Yeah.
So there's these are planes that.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
He describes in the book, folks, and so you're wondering
if someone is going to make it to that that
third plane. That fu that's really interesting. I'm giving that
away either. When you describe the book to people, as
I can talk to you forever, but obviously gotta wrap
this up. And again, it's such a great book. Congratulations.
(37:00):
What do you ascribe the book to people? What do
you say? Because everybody has I can describe a book, thinks,
but what you're the author, You're you're the you're the
father of this book.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
What do you what say you? Somebody says, what's your
book about?
Speaker 3 (37:14):
Well, you know, it's it's somewhat depends on who the
audience is, who's asking. I have tried to find in
this age of short attention spans. Yeah, what can I say?
It's gonna you know, have you take a chance on
this person. You've never heard of, this author, you don't
know from Adam So. I mean, I've said from time
(37:37):
to time it's like it's a possession novel. But for
the whole family.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You know, that's pretty good. That's pretty good. I like that, Peter,
that's pretty good. I like that.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
I do think that that my there is possession in
the book, and that's not a secret. I think it's
on the flap copy. Yeah, and uh, and I think
it's a very unique approach at possession that dabbles in
some things. So there's that. Most of the time, I
just say, look, I kind of tell them what I
(38:08):
told you at the front. I'm like, you know, in
twenty sixteen, I thought I was going to die and
I started writing my son love letters, and then all
of a sudden I had this idea of like, wait
a minute, if we both die, who's he? Who are
we leaving them with good friends? Who are they? Do
we know them at all? And then that question of
(38:29):
just like if you knew where you were in heaven,
whatever that looks like for you, was better than the
life your child, whether it be boy, girl or otherwise
here on earth, would you kill them to bring them
to heaven to reunite your family? And I say that,
and I mean most of the time people's face just
is like, sure, what did you just say?
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (38:53):
And I mean it's dark, you know, and it's interesting.
Like my editor, the editor who I ended up working
with with Crooked Lane Books, Thank you Crooked Lane Books,
Thank you just Urday for you know, making this happen,
which in and of itself is its own kind of
magical story. But what I really liked about her take
(39:14):
after reading the manuscript was she was just like, this
is an insanely dark book, but it still offers hope.
You know, you still yeah and uh, and that you
know that's something that I think I have to work
better into my own pitch, right, because I tend to
focus on like, this is what it's about, and then
(39:36):
I probably finished with that. You know this mother wants
to kill her son and bring him to the afterlife,
and it's too much, it's too much for me. Well
now I'm like, it's a possession novel for the whole family.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Well, I you know this, I'm saying it out loud,
streaming service something, this could be. This could be a series,
a book, a movie. Something I'm saying out loud. I
think it'd be great. I think it'd be wonderful.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Uh. I have to ask.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
I always ask folks when it's a good book like this, sequels,
spin off anything, thinking.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
Or are we done? It's just it's good for now.
As you think about this right now, you know I.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
Can't see doing a sequel, but I do. I would
really love the opportunity to turn it into a series
because there's some places where I could go with it.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Oh, I totally with the right actors.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Yeah, with the whole plane craft sequence could be amazing.
First of all, because you're talking through it and everything
that it could be an amazing and it's annual the babies.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
If I could vision it, envision it and.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
I think getting some you know, you get a little
bit of a taste of the histories of the characters
throughout the book and where they came from in their
own trauma that formed them and shape them. But I
think it would be I think I could go deep
into that. But in terms of the next thing I'm doing,
I'm actually working on a new my my next manuscript,
which I hope will be the next published book.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Uh is.
Speaker 3 (41:08):
Actually this is how I'm billing this one. It's the
hero story my mother deserves. And I'll leave you with that.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
Well, Peter, you have to come back when that book
comes out. You have to come back on the show.
You have an invitation of the show anytime.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Peter.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Thank you. That's amazing. I appreciate that. I've enjoyed talking
to you so much. I mean I could just shoot
to shoot the crap with you, probably for another two hours.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Who's gonna watch a five hour podcast.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
So one, no one?
Speaker 2 (41:34):
I know that. Yeah, but you have to come back sometimes.
It'd be great.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
So we have your next book, come back, we'll talk
about I'll read it and we'll talk about it. Uh
is the guy he is on all of platforms. We
all following each other on Instagram. So what I'm gonna
do is also gonna send you my blog post from
today that I did everybody likes, and then you'll see.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
The one on Monday, so you'll have it. You'll like,
and you'll like.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
Both of them.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
But he's but he's a Peter Roach dot com. So
everybody at home who's listening, that's p e t E
R r So's two rs O s h O s
c H. I'm I did already, So that's what we
do again. P E t E r So Peter and
then Roach r O s c H dot com. I'll
put in a description.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Of course.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
He's on Blue Sky, he's on threads, he's on Facebook,
he's on Instagrams, he's on the Gram, he's every where.
He's going to be just like I am. Andrea Pages
on Facebook. Well, I'll marry word to you, James log.
Let me want TikTok. That's a kind of TikTok star.
I know what's going over there. People like my content,
so check me out and take it. Check us both out.
(42:37):
Help the old guys check us both outs.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
Yeah, yeah, help the old guys out out like that.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
We're vital. We still got stuff.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Come on now and run out and get the book.
I'm telling you, guys, I think you really enjoy it.
Thanks for joining us. We're here every Thursday. We will
see you next week with the new book.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
Thank you.
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