Rock Is Lit

In this episode, my friend Sherry Thomas and I are talking ‘Eddie and the Cruisers’, the 1983 cult classic film about a fictional early 1960s rock ‘n roll band on the rise that virtually disappeared from the airwaves after their lead singer, Eddie Wilson, supposedly died in a car wreck following a dispute over the band’s experimental second album, which was never released. Almost 20 years pass, an...

We’re starting Season 3 with a bang.  Peter McDade is here to talk about his novel ‘Songs by Honeybird’, a story that features a fictional integrated rock band from 1960s Macon, Georgia, that fell off the musical map after a fire killed the lead singer and guitarist and also . . . possibly, the band’s African American drummer. To put it more succinctly, ‘Songs by Honeybird’ is about a band, a roma...

If you’ve ever had an interest in the paranormal, spirituality in general, or wondered if there’s life after death, if our consciousness does not end when our bodies do; if you’ve ever lost someone dear to you, felt the weight of grief, ached to connect with that person again and asked yourself . . . is there a chance—any chance at all—that I could reconnect with my loved one: What would you do to...

This bonus episode is an addendum to Episode 6 on Zachary Lazar’s rock novel ‘Sway’, a story that brings together the early Rolling Stones, members of the Manson Family, and avant-garde filmmaker and occultist Kenneth Anger. In the last segment of that episode, Zeena Schreck shares her memories of her godfather Kenneth Anger and gives her insight into some of his work. This bonus episode features...

Well, this is it: the Season 2 finale! What could be better than having a great novelist AND musician as my last guest for the summer. Enter Franz Nicolay. Franz is here to talk about his rock novel ‘Someone Should Pay For Your Pain’, a story that follows singer-songwriter Rudy, his conflicted relationship with a successful former protégé named Ryan, and Rudy’s young niece, Lily, who wants to trav...

In this episode we’re going back in time to talk about Ford Fairlane, a character created by Rex Weiner for a series of stories published in the late ‘70s in the now-defunct ‘New York Rocker’ and a second series published in the early ‘80s in the ‘LA Weekly’. The 1990 movie ‘The Adventures of Ford Fairlane’ starring Andrew Dice Clay is loosely based on the character Rex created. It wasn’t until 20...

In this episode, Jason Warburg joins me to talk about his rock novel ‘Believe in Me’, a story in which young political operative Tim Green finds himself in the orbit of a super famous rock ‘n roll band. Jason and I talk about his experience working in politics and as a music journalist, the relationship between politics and music, Jason’s family background and the loss of his parents and stepfathe...

Ben Arzate is in the cyber house to talk about his short novel ‘Music Is Over’, published by Malarkey Books in 2022. Malarkey describes ‘Music Is Over’ as “a picaresque surreal horror novel” that “imagines the lost years of musician Juntaro Yamanouchi [of the Japanese Noise band The Gerogerigegege]. It is weird, bizarre, violent, and surprisingly sweet.” If you’re into Japanese Noise, trains that...

If your jam is Bluegrass music, revolutionaries, political rants, and the Wild West of the Internet (otherwise known as the Deep Web), you’re gonna love this episode. Daniel Torday is here to talk about his novel ‘Boomer1’, a story that follows Bluegrass musician, underemployed millennial, and now PhD in English, Mark Brumfeld, who channels his desperation by posting a series of online video monol...

In this bonus episode (which is really an addendum to Season 1 Episode 6, featuring Zachary Lazar’s rock novel ‘Sway’, a story that brings together the early Rolling Stones, the films of avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger, and members of the Manson Family in a fictional setting) Scott Michaels joins me to talk about Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders and what it was like working with Quentin Tara...

This offering is an outtake from Episode 22, on Rob Errera’s horror rock novel ‘Hangman’s Jam’, a story about a haunted song that beguiles an up-and-coming rock band. In the last segment of that episode, my friend Zeena Schreck joined me to talk about the power certain songs have in spiritual and magical practices, to add real-world context to Rob’s novel. Zeena has been on the podcast a few times...

Calling all metalheads out there in podcast land. Have I got the novel and episode for you. John Wray is here to talk about his brand-new novel, ‘Gone to the Wolves’, which author Raven Leilani describes as “a love letter to metal that captures both its brutal kinetics and its nearness to the sublime.” The novel follows Kip, Kira, and Leslie Z, three teenagers living on Florida’s Gulf Coast in the...

In this episode, Brett Marie joins me to talk about his fabulous debut novel, ‘The Upsetter Blog’. Author John Lingan said of the novel, “ ‘The Upsetter Blog’ takes us back to the turn of the century, when the Internet was still a wilderness and ‘new media’ had not yet upended cultural coverage. [Brett Marie’s] finely drawn characters look to rock and roll for redemption, fame, love, and intimacy,...

Garth Risk Hallberg is my guest in this episode of Rock is Lit. Full disclosure, Garth is the son of my late husband, Bill Hallberg, who was also a writer and teacher. Garth is here to talk about the new Apple TV+ series ‘City on Fire’, which is based on his 2015 international bestselling novel of the same title. The first three episodes of this eight-episode music-driven mystery thriller premiere...

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE HERE. Before there was Led Zeppelin, before Jimmy Page first bowed his electric guitar or worked his magic on the theremin, there was The Yardbirds—the legendary 1960s British psychedelic blues band that launched the careers of three of rock’s greatest guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.   In this special episode of Rock is Lit, one of th...

I’m excited to welcome acclaimed musician Jessamyn Violet to the podcast to talk about her novel, ‘Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar’, a gritty, glittery, queer YA debut about a teenage musician who jumps at a chance to play in her favorite rock band on their upcoming world tour, only to realize her heroes have their own agenda and might be leading her down a dark path.  If you’re into the 1990s Lo...

What do yoga, the Y2K freakout, Finland, and Bob Dylan have in common? Cheryl J. Fish, that’s what. Cheryl brings them all together in her debut novel from Livingston Press, ‘Off the Yoga Mat’, set in that crazy year 1999, when everybody feared a looming mass technological meltdown and started filling their garages with buy-in-bulk toilet paper and miscellaneous canned goods (sounds familiar, does...

If you’re a fan of David Bowie—be it Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke, Major Tom, Aladdin Sane, and/or The Blind Prophet from the ‘Blackstar’ videos, or all of the above—you’re going to love this episode. Lance Olsen is here to talk about his latest novel, ‘Always Crashing in the Same Car: A Novel After David Bowie’, a story that fictionalizes the life of David Bowie from a wide...

In lieu of a regular episode this week, I’m coming at you from the Rock is Lit Vault. I’m excited about interviewing Rex Weiner, author of ‘The (Original) Adventures of Ford Fairlane’, tomorrow night (3/24/2023) for an upcoming episode of Rock is Lit. Since half of Rex’s Ford Fairlane stories take place during the early ‘80s punk rock scene in LA, I thought it would be fun to revisit my chat with...

Hello, Lit Listeners. If science fiction is your jam, this is the episode for you. Sarah Pinsker is here to talk about her sci fi rock novel, 'A Song For A New Day’, a story that takes place after a global pandemic makes public gatherings illegal and concerts impossible, hence the rise of DIY music venues. In the last segment, Rock is Lit veteran Nabil Ayers drops by to give me some insight into t...

I hope everybody’s doing well out there in podcast land. In lieu of a regular episode this week, I’m coming at you from the Rock is Lit Vault. I’ve got some news and announcements I wanted to share with you before we move on to the next full episode, which will drop next week. In this Rock is Lit Vault Bonus Episode, you’ll find the following info: ·     Previous Season Two Episodes Recap ·     Wh...

“Some songs demand sacrifice,” Rob Errera writes of the title song in his novel ‘Hangman’s Jam,” a story that chronicles the rise of the band Allen Vent and The Strange Creations and the mysterious song that haunts and beguiles them. If you like your rock novels to come with a hearty dose of groupies, drug overdoses, sex tapes, and a side of murder, betrayal, and some freaky other-worldly creature...

In this episode, Chris L. Terry, who is both a writer and punk rock musician, does double duty as author and music guru. Chris and I talk about his novel ‘Black Card’, a story that follows a mixed-race punk rock musician and his struggles with identity. Chris and I get candid about race, how to pronounce certain naughty words, Hip-Hop, punk rock music, and even Confederate monuments. Per J. Ryan S...

My award-winning novel, ‘Searching for Jimmy Page’, the first literary novel to feature Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page, was published in paperback, hardback, and Kindle by Livingston Press on October 20, 2021. You can still get the Kindle version on Amazon, and the paperback is available on Amazon and your local indie bookstores. Now that the audiobook is out on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes, I feel li...

In this episode Daniel Paisner joins me to talk about his novel ‘Balloon Dog’, a story driven by a would-be writer protagonist who looks at the world through snatches of classic rock lyrics. The novel tells the story of a brazen art heist gone sideways and asks readers to consider what it means to leave a mark and what it takes to be swept up in the same currents that move the rest of the world. L...