Ask the Author: Joe Turk
Answered Questions (4)
Joe Turk
I'm building my own home.
Joe Turk
I bought a piece of property so I could build my house. The house had a hill on it. Turns out there are tunnels under the land that connect to the hill.
Joe Turk
When I get stumped for a name, I refer to 19th century baseball rosters. The history of baseball is rife with memorable and sometimes weirdly evocative nicknames.
However, in 'Breaking the Toy', the main character's name is 'Gob/Gobalian'. And I got that name from Dickran Gobalian, otherwise known as 'Leon Redbone', Mr. Gobalian/Redbone is a musician known for songs that recall the 19th and early 20th century. But in addition to his nostalgic music, he's known for giving bizarre interviews. He has insisted that he is 'very old', 'thousands' of years old..."I just keep coming back". And when asked about his parents, he said he was the son of Jenny Lind and Paganini. Jenny Lind was a Swedish opera singer born in 1820...which would make Leon Redbone roughly 160 years old Leon Redbone maintains these details of his backstory, to this day, never once 'breaking character'. And if that isn't strange enough, if you look at photos of Jenny Lind and Leon Redbone...they have VERY similar bone structures to their faces.
Since you've read, 'Breaking the Toy', you know the premise involves living multiple lives, so it seemed appropriate to appropriate Mr. Gobalian's name. It's an added bonus that 'gob' means mouth, since the book character tends to say what she/he thinks, regardless of consequence.
However, in 'Breaking the Toy', the main character's name is 'Gob/Gobalian'. And I got that name from Dickran Gobalian, otherwise known as 'Leon Redbone', Mr. Gobalian/Redbone is a musician known for songs that recall the 19th and early 20th century. But in addition to his nostalgic music, he's known for giving bizarre interviews. He has insisted that he is 'very old', 'thousands' of years old..."I just keep coming back". And when asked about his parents, he said he was the son of Jenny Lind and Paganini. Jenny Lind was a Swedish opera singer born in 1820...which would make Leon Redbone roughly 160 years old Leon Redbone maintains these details of his backstory, to this day, never once 'breaking character'. And if that isn't strange enough, if you look at photos of Jenny Lind and Leon Redbone...they have VERY similar bone structures to their faces.
Since you've read, 'Breaking the Toy', you know the premise involves living multiple lives, so it seemed appropriate to appropriate Mr. Gobalian's name. It's an added bonus that 'gob' means mouth, since the book character tends to say what she/he thinks, regardless of consequence.
Joe Turk
Thank you for asking! I was looking at lists yesterday, trying to find something to read. I couldn't find anything geared toward humorous dystopia or humorous apocalypse, but I personally considered pulling a book from these two lists, so it'd be nice to find MM on there some day...
Big list full of classics: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Smaller list with indie titles: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Recently, I've found readers who are politically active have been picking it up, so maybe it would fare better with on one of these lists...
Bigger list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Smaller list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Big list full of classics: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Smaller list with indie titles: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Recently, I've found readers who are politically active have been picking it up, so maybe it would fare better with on one of these lists...
Bigger list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Smaller list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
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