The Capricious Nature of Being is a collection of short stories filled with intrigue and satire about the unpredictable turns life takes, and how ordinary people stumble, resist, adapt, or come undone. What was the inspiration for this collection of stories?

Life! Almost every story in the book is based on an experience of mine or one of a person I knew. “Dick & Jane” was inspired by Stephen King’s book On Writing, and Jane is a composite of a couple of women who blazed through my life. “Uber” came from research I was conducting for a business column, and “The Accident” practically wrote itself at a wedding I attended. I haven’t a clue where Dr. Margaret Mary McAllister came from, but I love her to death. “The Other Side of the Tracks” was kind of a goof I was playing around with that sprouted wings and took off like a big old 747, tequila and all. However, most of the time when I write, I haven’t a clue where I’m going until I get there.

You often place people and stories in familiar environments. Why is everyday life such an effective stage for inner upheaval?

Because that’s where it happens. I’m not a big fan of a lot of descriptive narrative or metaphorical muscle flexing. I like my characters to develop themselves through dialogue and behavior, and the drama of their situation to emerge from within. Familiar, low-keyed settings allow that drama to play out without a lot of superfluous distractions, and I believe it allows the reader to better identify and empathize with the emerging personalities.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The capricious nature of being! Like WTF, man! Life’s a bitch and then you die, and all that hard-edged confetti wherein we frame our experiences. Everybody, to one degree or another, has some kind of cross to bear, and how you perceive that challenge, how you deal with it, is the story of your life. There are no victims, only the vanquished and survivors, and it’s your choice.  

What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?

It’s titled How to Sell the Plague, a memoir I’ve been working on for about 15 years; the story of my life in all its overstated and glorious hyperbole. Only most of it’s true, and I hope interesting. It’s subtitled From Woodstock to Wingtips, and it’s ostensibly about me morphing from hippie to businessman, but the real theme is finding out who I am amidst a slew of confusion and misdirection. The narrative winds through my emotionally formative years with lots of side alleys and illusionary backdoors, like doing jumping jacks in a jock strap in front of a Broadway producer or smashing my guitar against a tree (a la Peter Townsind) on the top of a Sierra Nevada mountain to impress a pretty young blond (wink, wink). Like the driving issue in all my writing, it’s about perspective and choices, and some of the fun along the way.

Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon