Oddball in 3G received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Marc Berlin.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Oddball in 3G; published 9/19/19.
What’s the book’s first line?
Call me Robert Krieger.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Anxious loner looks for romance while battling an inner-city drug gang.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I have had an anxiety disorder for a number of years, and writing the novel was a way to explore my condition through art.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To understand more fully what motivates a young man dealing with loneliness and anxiety.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The main character, despite his dire situation, manages to maintain an upbeat, wry view of the world. Meursault, in The Outsider by Albert Camus.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
He’s dead, but I was imagining a living Philip Seymour Hoffman.
When did you first decide to become an author?
Very very gradually, after reading all of Burgess, Heller, Burroughs, Hunter Thompson, and Celine, plus many other great interesting writers. I had an old screenplay in my desk drawer and I reverse engineered it into a novel.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
I wrote one previous to this, but it was hopelessly imitative and thus it was just a practice novel.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I operate a small movie distribution business that I founded.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
When actually writing, I work 3 hours a day. After that, the semi-dream state I was in when I woke up has evaporated.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Best: No pressure or deadlines; hardest is you have little professional input.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Don’t sweat the initial lack of reviews or sales. It may take ten years, but a good book will find an audience, eventually.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I’m lazy, so a completely traditional deal would probably work best for me.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I’m motivated to create an aesthetically pleasing and interesting thing from nothing.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Joseph Heller. Funniest writer ever. (Not Catch-22 so much, but Good As Gold.)
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Especially the opening sentence.