We Have a Title!

Well, after writing close to 70,000 words and much deliberation about the conceptual umbrella that holds them all together, I have finally landed on a title for Book#2! You may recall that for quite some time, my next project was solely referred to as As Yet Untitled Novel #2.

I am pleased, and somewhat relieved, to announce that the sequel to The Last Mixtape will be known as:

Textbook James

It's a little academic, a touch analytical, and with any luck leaves you asking: what is Textbook James?

What's it about?

Several years after the events of The Last Mixtape, we find James teaching middle school, coaching baseball, and failing pretty badly in the love life department. Still a card-carrying member of Over-thinkers Anonymous, at one point James describes his life as "flailing through adulthood." Here's a small sample:

I nodded and Sal smiled. I was free to go. Next to the garage, there were two spots designated for my use. My car took up one, and Sal said I could use the other spot for guests, as long as I gave him a heads up if someone’s car was going to be parked there overnight.

Sal’s request to know who was in his driveway was an additional, unwanted challenge to my already struggling love life. On the off chance I could get a woman back to my apartment, it wasn’t like I needed the additional degree of difficulty of working out parking arrangements. That would make for some smooth foreplay: Hey, I really like you and this is going great. Do you mind if I get the make and model of your car to give to my landlord? During my time under the Russo roof, I don’t remember ever giving Sal the overnight parking “heads-up.”

As I started down the long driveway, my landlord was in my rear-view mirror with a bucket of balls and a wedge. While he could’ve gone to the country club to work on his short game, I think he felt oddly compelled to stay home and eavesdrop as his wife hollered into the phone about what a lousy husband he was. Forty-seven years. That meant a young Sal and Jeannie probably started dating sometime after World War II. What was a good date back then? Strawberry soda at the drug store fountain? I shook my head and turned on to Spruce St. What did I know about a good date in this or any other era?

Stay tuned, James Nakamura fans; there’s certainly a lot more to come.