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What group did you hang out with in high school?
In my high school there were many cliques: jocks, brains, artists, politicos, musicians and nerds. Our group was the “none of the above” clique.
What are you passionate about these days?
I love reading and writing! As I get older, space travel is pretty much out, along with bungee jumping, hang gliding, sky diving and active volcano exploration. These days, I’d much rather hang out with my spouse and read or write.
If you had to do your journey to getting published all over again, what would you do differently?
I self- published my first novel about 10 years ago knowing absolutely nothing about things like professional editors, proofreaders, promotional people, etc. I had a very time-consuming career and just squeezing the writing in was about all I could manage. But now I realize the importance of those things. I wouldn’t dream of publishing without having my manuscript professionally proofed and edited. And, of course, promotion is essential.
Ebook or print? And why?
Love them both! I purchase both and I’ve found that a lot of my friends still purchase printed books, exclusively. So, I will definitely utilize both.
What is your favorite scene in this book?
The Big Comb Over is something of throwback to the old school comedy of manners and there are several scenes where characters converse with one another but understand entirely different things from the conversation. For example, a passenger on the flight to London, who owns an haute couture fashion house, “Maison Dixon,” believes Roy also runs a fashion house due to Roy’s unusual suit selection. Roy a rugged, middle-class waterman, who purchased a horribly outdated and ill-fitting seersucker suit at a discount store, believes that the passenger, “Mason Dixon,” is a land surveyor and that his fashion lines are surveyor’s lines. Roy happily describes his lines to the friendly passenger: twine, used as crabbing lines.
Three nephews and three eccentric uncles.
It’s 2050 and Robbie Elders has all but forgotten about his oddball, religious fanatic uncle, tim tim. He’s taken up the latest fad, genealogical research based solely on DNA. But Robbie’s “inconclusive” DNA results are unsettling. He crashes back to his childhood, back to his world of comic books and tim tim.
“I opt for posh and London” declares Lady Florence Stour. It’s 2019 and time for a Royal Wedding. Robbie’s uncle, Stef, is engaged to Lady Florence, a distant member of the British royal family. Stef’s Baltimore clan have been invited, but Robbie’s mom and dad can’t attend. They’ve entrusted Robbie and big brother, Doyle, to their mom’s two eccentric brothers, uncles Roy and Roland. Roy, a weathered waterman with a severe Baltimore accent, lives for Maryland blue crabs. Roland, a mildly hypochondriacal actor, lives to survive the Karens he unavoidably encounters. And then there’s Desales, Roy’s smart aleck, teenage son. He lives to prank. They’ve descended upon London. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, tim tim has been coaching Robbie on “the mission.” A silly religious fantasy according to Robbie’s atheist parents and the therapists. Or perhaps not? Things are not always as they appear in The Big Comb Over.
“Thanks, bud! So, how has your travel thing worked out? You had said you were doing, like, covered bridge destinations?”
“Well, yes. I started with that because, you know, a lot of people really connect with covered bridges. There’s a peacefulness. A return to simpler times and virtues. A lot of people like that.”
“Sounds nice.”
“But I’m not the only agent with that idea. There are actually a lot of travel consultants doing covered bridges. Old railroad lines are also big these days. Anyway, I upped the ante. I’m now working in acoustic sound barriers.”
Chris saw Roland’s puzzled look.
“Okay. So, it’s interesting. You know you drive along the Beltway or other highways and see they’ve put up all those sound barrier walls, right? That way it’s not so noisy for the people in their houses. The walls are all prefabricated and look about the same. But I noticed, every now and then, they stick a door in one. I always wondered why. I learned that it’s so that the highway people can get access for maintenance or to get to fire hydrants or what have you.”
“Yes?”
“So, I had been curious about that and thought, ‘You know, if I’m curious about that, other people will be too.’”
“Okay.”
“So, I surveilled various sound walls throughout the state—mostly around Baltimore—and made a list of the most interesting ones with doors. Some of them have been around like twenty years, so they have, like, a highway patina. A lot of them have plants and vines growing around them, randomly, but sometimes in very beautiful ways. So I reached out to some of the folks whose homes are affected to get a tour, as it were. The coolest thing is the ‘before and after.’ You know, you listen first with the door open. At peak times the noise is unbelievable. But once you close that door, there is an immediate calm. Much more peaceful. Very Zen. And like I said, the naturally occurring flora and fauna are quite amazing. Besides the plants, there were things like rodents and birds nesting near the doors. Some right on the walls above the doors. You could tell because of all the droppings.”
Roland blinked twice.
J. Paul (J.P.) Rieger is a born and bred Baltimorean and mostly retired Maryland attorney. As such, he’s well acquainted with the quirkiness and charm of Baltimore’s unique citizens. He’s author of Clonk!, a police farce set in Baltimore and published in 2023 by Apprentice House Press (Loyola University-Baltimore). He’s also author of The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, a mystery novel featuring a wannabe lawyer anti-hero. The Big Comb Over, a slipstream comedy of manners featuring three nephews and their three eccentric uncles, is Paul’s third novel. Paul is married and lives in Towson, Maryland.
Website: http://www.jpaulrieger.net
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Comb-Over-J-P-Rieger-ebook/dp/B0D2NKKTL7
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Good morning! Thanks for having me onboard!
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