Category Archives: Books

Underground Soundtrack

Many thanks to Roz Morris for featuring me this week on the Underground Soundtrack, which explores the music that accompanied the creation of a novel. In my case, Forest of Fortune came out of the ambient droning of slot machines, the frenzy of punk rock, and chaos of an unexpected death. 

When the anger passed and the sadness moved in I turned to Dillinger Four’s Civil War, the saddest punk rock record I’ve ever heard. The songs are suffused with melancholy that I drank up like the cheap vodka I drank on the long drive to and from the Indian reservation every day.

Read the rest of the soundtrack. If you’ve never seen Jay Reatard play Blood Visions live, check this out. This also seem like a good place to link to “The Haunted Casino” which the Mind Spiders wrote and performed for the Forest of Fortune book trailer

In case anyone was wondering, “How’s Jim doing today?” Here’s your answer. #yardbird (at Paradise Hills)

Today I visited High Tech High Chula Vista to deliver a lecture on how to write a book review. Thanks Ms. Nuvia! (at HTHCV)

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

Zippo lighters from Vietnam

For those still out on patrol.

The Life Sentence

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I was interviewed by Steph Cha, author of the Juniper Song series set in Los Angeles, at The Life Sentence, a new website dedicated to crime and mystery writing. We talk about casino life, addition, ghost writing and, of course, bloofing: 

Steph: When I went to your Skylight Books reading, you read a passage that involved a practice called bloofing. Do you have any opinions on bloofing in literature? Also, you have a young daughter. Has she read your book?
Jim: Bloofing, or the practice of getting cocaine blown up one’s ass, has been a part of rock legend for decades. In 1992 I read an interview in New Music Express with Faith No More’s Roddy Bottom who reported that his ex-girlfriend Courtney Love enjoyed it. For the previous generation of rock fans, it was Stevie Nicks who purportedly loved to ride the white horse (literally). If nothing else, I take comfort in knowing that Forest of Fortune is at the front of bloofing lit. (It’s certainly a better “how to” than this.) And, no, my daughter hasn’t read it, nor is she ever allowed to, at least not until Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Katniss Everdeen get in on the action.

Read the rest of the interview.

European Tour

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Vermin on the Mount is teaming up with VLAK Magazine and the Prague Microfest for a series of unforgettable readings in Berlin, Brno, Prague and London:

05/15     Berlin, Germany     7pm
Vermin on the Mount & VLAK
with Thor Garcia, Catherine Hales, Jim Ruland, Jeroen Nieuwland, Louis Armand & David Vichnar
Normal Bar
Forsterstrasse 46
10999 Kreuzberg

05/16     Brno, Czech Republic     7pm
Vermin on the Mount & VLAK
with Thor Garcia, Olga Pek, Louis Armand, Jim Ruland & David Vichnar
Sklenena Louka (Glass Meadow)
Kounicova 23, 602 00 Brno

05/17    Prague, Czech Republic     7pm
Vermin on the Mount & VLAK
Prague Micro Festival with Louis Armand, Morgan Childs, Sophia Disgrace, Phil Shoenfelt, Jim Ruland, Thor Garcia, Ken Nash + music
Cafe NoD
Dlouha 33, Prague

05/23     London, England     7pm
Vermin on the Mount & VLAK
with Thor Garcia, Richard Makin, Jim Ruland, Louis Armand & David Vichnar
Top Office Machines
133-135 Bethnal Green Road
London, E2 7DG

05/24     London, England
Vermin on the Mount & VLAK
with Lou Rowan, Stewart Home, Ulli Freer, Jim Ruland, Louis Armand & David Vichnar
Power Lunches Arts Cafe
446 Kingsland Road
Hackney, E8 4AE

sosuperawesome:

Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali. Art dolls by Valentina Felce in Florida, 

sosuperawesome:

Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali. Art dolls by Valentina Felce in Florida, 

sosuperawesome:

Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali. Art dolls by Valentina Felce in Florida, 

sosuperawesome:

Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali. Art dolls by Valentina Felce in Florida, 

sosuperawesome:

Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali. Art dolls by Valentina Felce in Florida,