“Some people run from their demons; others sit and have cocktails with theirs.”
That’s a quote from my first novel (after a tortuous publication history, now entitled But the Ripping Apart), and it probably sums up my early twenties fairly well.
Alas, we don’t stay young forever. Just ask my knees. Or liver.
And it turns out, I just enjoy sitting around and having cocktails with people (or evil entities, as it were).
I often joke that I became a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, but, as with most things, who is to say if you truly “decide” to become something? Not that it just happens. But countless small, seemingly insignificant decisions and a whole lot of randomness lead us to wherever we are, and the role of genetics and the muses are perpetually underestimated.
Hear the siren’s call.
Ah, it is so breathtaking!
Proceed to crash the ship.
I’ve heard a lot of siren calls since I wrote that bit and filmed the video in this post. Made a lot of decisions, both small and big. But what connects Past Me with Current Me and I think Future Me is a deep, unending search for meaning and connection. To that end, my writing explores characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess, and questions of Truth and Beauty abound. In that search, I’m always stretching myself artistically and sailing deeper into my psyche and soul, so you won’t find any stock plots, generic formulas, market chasing, or spamming for dollars here.
Just voyages. Shipwrecks. And all the laughter and tears that go along with them.
The latest literary voyage is an epic absurdist satire, Pirates of Appalachia, that I’ll be serializing here on Substack, one chapter a week. You can learn more and read along in the Pirates of Appalachia section starting May 1, 2025, but I promise it’s going to be a wild, audacious, genre- and mind-bending ride.
Speaking of wild, sobriety-bending rides, another place I’ve been searching for meaning and connection (and cocktails) is on my YouTube show, Writers Drinking Whiskey. WDW isn’t your typical writers-selling-their-books podcast. Every episode I try to make a genuine human connection with my guest, and to help foster a community I host Open Bar author panels. We talk life, laugh, pontificate, commiserate, and discuss Truth and Beauty and what makes storytelling sacred. And, yeah, we talk writing craft and the publishing industry for all my writer friends out there. There’s a Writers Drinking Whiskey section if you’re inclined to give the show a try. New videos release weekly.
So that’s my first post and intro to my stack. I hope it found your inboxes well and didn’t disturb any dark spirits (except maybe the amber ones). A toast to you, to connection, and to the end of prohibition.
Cheers,
Bill
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