Welcome Today's Featured Author
Nicholas Tanek!!!!
Book Description:
Okay, so no one actually kills themselves in this book.
The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself pulls you into the early 90's New York City rave scene, in all its chaotic, psychedelic glory. The narrator grabs you by your wrist and drags you behind two teenage lovers from New Jersey as they tumble through a whirlwind of reckless hedonism that eventually spirals into a dark, devastating world of drug addiction and heartbreak. As a teenager, Lynn cried, "No one is ever going to write something for me."
Nearly two decades later, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Nicholas did just that. The gesture came too late for our unlikely heroine, but his heart was in the right place. A broken heart... but a true love. Reunited after years apart, Lynn and Nicholas embraced their love and sexuality, and embraced each other, despite troubled pasts, despite illness, despite all of their imperfections and mistakes. They shared the kind of honest and shameless connection that few have had the honor of knowing, and most would never understand.
"We're not hurting anyone. We're just living life without caring what anyone thinks about us."
The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself pulls you into the early 90's New York City rave scene, in all its chaotic, psychedelic glory. The narrator grabs you by your wrist and drags you behind two teenage lovers from New Jersey as they tumble through a whirlwind of reckless hedonism that eventually spirals into a dark, devastating world of drug addiction and heartbreak. As a teenager, Lynn cried, "No one is ever going to write something for me."
Nearly two decades later, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Nicholas did just that. The gesture came too late for our unlikely heroine, but his heart was in the right place. A broken heart... but a true love. Reunited after years apart, Lynn and Nicholas embraced their love and sexuality, and embraced each other, despite troubled pasts, despite illness, despite all of their imperfections and mistakes. They shared the kind of honest and shameless connection that few have had the honor of knowing, and most would never understand.
"We're not hurting anyone. We're just living life without caring what anyone thinks about us."
"It's the coolest way to kill ourselves," Lynn said.
Buy Links:
http://www.outskirtspress.com/bookstore/details/9781478701873
http://outskirtspress.com/thecoolestway/
NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE:
http://outskirtspress.com/thecoolestway/
NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE:
Teasers:
About the Author:
Nicholas Tanek is an American ghostwriter from New Brunswick, New Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in English. He has been a ghostwriter for over 15 years.
My name is Nicholas Tanek and I wrote The Coolest Way as a tribute to the love of my life who passed away 2 years ago at the age of 37. This book is the most important thing that I have done in my life. This true story tells a love story that spans two decades. We dealt with depression, drug addiction, abuse, homelessness, prostitution, and many other devastating issues. Although it was just a summer romance that faded away, we came back together years later. We saved each other. Love and honesty saved us. It was not religion. It was not psychotherapy. Love saved us. I promise you that this is a very unique and personal book. It is a true story that is filled with hard drugs, kinky sex, and an endless amount of music references. Please read with an open mind and an open heart. It's the coolest way...I think that you will find my book very interesting. It is a very unconventional romance.
Stalker Links:
Interview With Nicholas Tanek:
1) Can you tell us a little about your book?
Nicholas Tanek: My book is titled THE COOLEST WAY TO KILL YOURSELF. It is filled with kinky sex, hard drugs, and an endless amount of music references. No one commits suicide in the book. The book does not promote or make fun of suicide either. It’s about changing the person you were to become a new person through love, true honest love. The love of my life died at the age of 37, the summer before Hurricane Sandy. We had a teenage summer romance that lasted a little longer than the summer. We were deep in the NYC rave scene and did an insane amount of drugs. I’m talking ecstasy, angel dust, LSD and yes, even pot. I broke her heart and throughout almost a decade and a half, we lived separate lives. After failed marriages, abusive spouses, serious hardcore drug addiction and crime, we finally found each other again. This book is about second chances. We ended up having the most honest and beautiful relationship. Even though we were severely broken people, we saved each other. Kink and fetishes played an important role. Our honesty and sexuality brought us closer. Now, we both loved to write, but when we were teenagers, only I would get published. All my poems and stories were dedicated to other women I liked. Lynn would get sad and ask, “Why doesn’t anyone write anything for me?” Well, during Hurricane Sandy, with a generator to power my computer, I wrote a book for the girl who thought no one would ever write anything for her.
2) Using one sentence describe The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself.
Nicholas Tanek: The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself is an honest tribute to the love of my life.
3) What were some of the challenges you faced when writing your debut novel?
Nicholas Tanek: First there was the brutal honesty. My family does not want the world to know that I did tons of drugs, dabbled in crime, and am a bit of a sexual deviant. So, I asked myself: Should I be this honest and open? My answer was, “Hell yes!” Everything about my relationship with Lynn was based on 100% complete honesty. I owed her that. I also think I owed myself that. It was very therapeutic for me to write this book. Plus, I wanted it to be emotionally hardcore. With all the other hardcore stuff going on in the book (i.e. kinky sex, narcotics, and crime), I felt it was my duty as an author to be emotionally hardcore and brutally honest. Second, it was the editing. The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself is long and epic in detail. Melissa Blair, my editor, was essential in making sure it turned out right. Third, I had (and still have) to deal with the fact that this book is very different from most books. It is difficult to categorize into a genre. It is a love story, but not a romance novel. It is filled with kinky BDSM sex, but I would not call it erotica. Like a memoir, it almost can fit in many genres. It is a challenge to market, but I did not write it for money. First, the title of the book is The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself. Second, the cover is unlike most book covers. I love my street team. TheCoolest Street team is used to promoting more commercial books. So, it’s a challenge for them. They are doing a great a job. They got me this interview.
4) How did you come up with the title?
Nicholas Tanek: It has several meanings. The book deals with depression and addiction and overcoming these challenges. For much of my life, I was fascinated by talented people who have committed suicide. People like Hunter S. Thompson, Anne Sexton, Kurt Cobain, and Sylvia Plath fascinated me. When people deal with depression and have suicidal thoughts, a sharp and dark sense of humor is sometimes within them. It’s in me. So, I flipped that concept. I wanted to use suicide as a dark but positive metaphor for truly letting yourself fall in love. My old self is dead because I gave in to true and honest love. Another way to look at it is the brutal honesty in the book. I did not hold back with all of the drugs, sex, and crime. I had to write this book. This story was going to be published even if it killed me. That was the coolest way.
5) So far what has been your favorite part of writing?
Nicholas Tanek: That I’m not some kind of screw up who used to be a drugged up, perverted criminal. I feel focused and positive. I chose creativity over negativity. This book saved my life. Instead of falling back into depression, drugs, crime, or other negative behavior, I decided to do something positive. That aspect has changed me in so many ways.
6) Do you listen to music while you write?
Nicholas Tanek: Oh, yes! Music is essential when I write, when I edit, and when I read. In the book, I write about writing this book. There is one scene where I am choosing music to write the words that the reader is reading. I have a soundtrack in the back of the book, including Roxy Music, Withered Hand, PAS/CAL, My Bloody Valentine, The Stone Roses, ex wife, Primal Scream, The House of Love, Close Lobsters, and more. The list almost never ends.
7) Do you work with an outline, or just write?
Nicholas Tanek: My book is titled THE COOLEST WAY TO KILL YOURSELF. It is filled with kinky sex, hard drugs, and an endless amount of music references. No one commits suicide in the book. The book does not promote or make fun of suicide either. It’s about changing the person you were to become a new person through love, true honest love. The love of my life died at the age of 37, the summer before Hurricane Sandy. We had a teenage summer romance that lasted a little longer than the summer. We were deep in the NYC rave scene and did an insane amount of drugs. I’m talking ecstasy, angel dust, LSD and yes, even pot. I broke her heart and throughout almost a decade and a half, we lived separate lives. After failed marriages, abusive spouses, serious hardcore drug addiction and crime, we finally found each other again. This book is about second chances. We ended up having the most honest and beautiful relationship. Even though we were severely broken people, we saved each other. Kink and fetishes played an important role. Our honesty and sexuality brought us closer. Now, we both loved to write, but when we were teenagers, only I would get published. All my poems and stories were dedicated to other women I liked. Lynn would get sad and ask, “Why doesn’t anyone write anything for me?” Well, during Hurricane Sandy, with a generator to power my computer, I wrote a book for the girl who thought no one would ever write anything for her.
2) Using one sentence describe The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself.
Nicholas Tanek: The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself is an honest tribute to the love of my life.
3) What were some of the challenges you faced when writing your debut novel?
Nicholas Tanek: First there was the brutal honesty. My family does not want the world to know that I did tons of drugs, dabbled in crime, and am a bit of a sexual deviant. So, I asked myself: Should I be this honest and open? My answer was, “Hell yes!” Everything about my relationship with Lynn was based on 100% complete honesty. I owed her that. I also think I owed myself that. It was very therapeutic for me to write this book. Plus, I wanted it to be emotionally hardcore. With all the other hardcore stuff going on in the book (i.e. kinky sex, narcotics, and crime), I felt it was my duty as an author to be emotionally hardcore and brutally honest. Second, it was the editing. The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself is long and epic in detail. Melissa Blair, my editor, was essential in making sure it turned out right. Third, I had (and still have) to deal with the fact that this book is very different from most books. It is difficult to categorize into a genre. It is a love story, but not a romance novel. It is filled with kinky BDSM sex, but I would not call it erotica. Like a memoir, it almost can fit in many genres. It is a challenge to market, but I did not write it for money. First, the title of the book is The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself. Second, the cover is unlike most book covers. I love my street team. TheCoolest Street team is used to promoting more commercial books. So, it’s a challenge for them. They are doing a great a job. They got me this interview.
4) How did you come up with the title?
Nicholas Tanek: It has several meanings. The book deals with depression and addiction and overcoming these challenges. For much of my life, I was fascinated by talented people who have committed suicide. People like Hunter S. Thompson, Anne Sexton, Kurt Cobain, and Sylvia Plath fascinated me. When people deal with depression and have suicidal thoughts, a sharp and dark sense of humor is sometimes within them. It’s in me. So, I flipped that concept. I wanted to use suicide as a dark but positive metaphor for truly letting yourself fall in love. My old self is dead because I gave in to true and honest love. Another way to look at it is the brutal honesty in the book. I did not hold back with all of the drugs, sex, and crime. I had to write this book. This story was going to be published even if it killed me. That was the coolest way.
5) So far what has been your favorite part of writing?
Nicholas Tanek: That I’m not some kind of screw up who used to be a drugged up, perverted criminal. I feel focused and positive. I chose creativity over negativity. This book saved my life. Instead of falling back into depression, drugs, crime, or other negative behavior, I decided to do something positive. That aspect has changed me in so many ways.
6) Do you listen to music while you write?
Nicholas Tanek: Oh, yes! Music is essential when I write, when I edit, and when I read. In the book, I write about writing this book. There is one scene where I am choosing music to write the words that the reader is reading. I have a soundtrack in the back of the book, including Roxy Music, Withered Hand, PAS/CAL, My Bloody Valentine, The Stone Roses, ex wife, Primal Scream, The House of Love, Close Lobsters, and more. The list almost never ends.
7) Do you work with an outline, or just write?
Nicholas Tanek: That’s interesting because I usually do, but I did not write out an outline for this. The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself just needed to be written. I just started writing because I was emotionally devastated and needed the world to read this love story. The structure began to form in my mind the more I wrote. Instead of chapters, I made these segments I call “drops.” These “drops” could be sometimes moved around. The book is meant to be read from start to finish in order, but there is a non-linear structure to some of the story telling. Everything formed the way I wanted to in the editing process.
8) What's one random fact about yourself that you can share?
Nicholas Tanek: I am a huge fan of The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling. #BestShow2014
9) What do you do when you are not writing?
Nicholas Tanek: Wouldn’t you like to know? I’m kidding. I love film, comedy, and music. So, if I am not writing or making money, I am usually watching films, stand up, good television or listening to music.
10) What project are you working on now?
Nicholas Tanek: My next book is titled Chipped Black Nail Polish and it is a tribute to the very first love in my life. She was a very troubled, crazy, sexy post-punk rock girl. It’s a true story that is more of a prequel to The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself. It is about 1/3 as long and is nowhere near as graphic or epic. It takes place during the summer of 1989 in the New Jersey / New York indie rock / punk rock / hardcore scene. I like to think of it as a twisted John Hughes film (“Pretty In Pink,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and “Sixteen Candles”) meets “SLC Punk.” It is shorter, quick, and much funnier too. Still. It will get loud. It will get noisy. It will get emotional.
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