JOE CLIFFORD – Skunk Train
He spent much of the 1990s as a homeless heroin addict in San Francisco, but managed to get off the streets and turn his life in a positive direction. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from Florida International University in 2008 and eventually returned to the Bay Area, where he currently lives with his wife and two sons. His autobiographical novel, JUNKIE LOVE, was published by “Battered Suitcase” in 2010 and chronicles his personal battle with drugs.
Today, he’s an acquisitions editor for Gutter Books and producer of “Lip Service West,” a gritty… real… raw… reading series in Oakland, CA. He writes the bestselling Jay Porter Thriller Series, which opened with a book titled, LAMENTATION, that was an Anthony Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel in 2015. The series is currently 5 books deep and has received rave reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many others.
He’s also editor of a couple of really enjoyable anthologies, which I’m sure we’ll talk about at some point during our conversation. He currently teaches online writing courses for LitReactor and speaks around the country at various writing conferences and retreats. Today, we’re going to dig into the storyline of his latest release, SKUNK TRAIN. Bestselling author Joe Clifford takes us on today’s adventure…
Click on the PLAY icon (the triangle inside of the circle) in the image below to listen to this episode.
Listen to “JOE CLIFFORD – Skunk Train” on Spreaker.
Joe’s Social Media Footprint…
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
.
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
.
.
Preview & Order Joe’s Books:
…AMAZON LINK…
A must-read, adrenaline-fueled, coming of age story…
Fifteen year old Kyle Gill lives with his older cousin, Deke, in the backwater Northern California town of Dormundt. Kyle’s been cutting class for the past three weeks and one afternoon he returns home to discover Deke and his business partner, Jimmy, are holding one hundred pounds of marijuana, which they found abandoned at their dealer’s house. Knowing people will soon come looking for the stash, Deke and Jimmy set up a quick deal at the Skunk Train Inn, a skeezy roadside motel, but the buyers turn out to be dirty cops. In the ensuing melee, Deke is killed, Jimmy escapes, and the dirty cops flee. Kyle takes off in Jimmy’s truck with the money that was transferred before the shootout. On a mission to find his father, Kyle heads to San Francisco, where he meets Lizzie Decker, a wealthy high school senior, whose father has just been arrested for embezzlement. Together, Kyle and Lizzie join forces, but are soon pursued by Jimmy, the two dirty cops, and the Mexican cartel, as a third detective closes in, attempting to tie loose threads and solve the Skunk Train murders…
SEE FULL BOOK SUMMARY & REVIEWS ON AMAZON…
Available in Paperback & Ebook
…AMAZON LINK…
Based on the story of Joe’s personal journey from the streets to sobriety…
Joe Clifford didn’t start drinking beer until he was almost twenty years old. By the time he turned twenty-two, he was addicted to methamphetamine; and the heroin wasn’t far behind. Soon he’d lose his wife, his job, his home. Junkie Love follows the roughly ten years Clifford spent wandering the streets of San Francisco and beyond, first as a wannabe rock star, and then as another homeless junkie with his head lost in the stars. In between are the harrowing events and close calls, the shady characters and the enduring friendships, the redemption and restitution that led Fix Magazine to call Junkie Love “one of top four recovery memoirs” of all time…
SEE FULL BOOK SUMMARY & REVIEWS ON AMAZON…
Available in Paperback, Ebook, & Audio
…AMAZON LINK…
A 2015 Anthony Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel…
In a frigid New Hampshire winter, Jay Porter is trying to eke out a living and maintain some semblance of a relationship with his former girlfriend and their two-year-old son. When he receives an urgent call that Chris, his drug-addicted brother, is being questioned by the sheriff about his missing junkie business partner, Jay feels obliged to come to his rescue. After Jay negotiates his brother’s release from the county jail, Chris disappears into the night. As Jay begins to search for him, he is plunged into a cauldron of ugly lies and long-kept secrets that could tear apart his small hometown and threaten the lives of Jay and all those he holds dear. Powerful forces come into play that will stop at nothing until Chris is dead and the information he harbors is destroyed…
SEE FULL BOOK SUMMARY & REVIEWS ON AMAZON…
Available in Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, & Audio
…AMAZON LINK…
An Anthology pairing the talents of a host of creative minds with the iconic catalog of one of the great song writers of our time…
Like some born killers, this pairing of crime stories and the songs of Bruce Springsteen is a natural one. Each of the accomplished authors in this unique anthology chose a Springsteen title as a starting point, and in the criminally inclined spirit of the Boss, drove headlong to wherever that inspiration called. The destinations are as wildly diverse and far-reaching as the songs that influenced them. Some arrive at hope and redemption; others end up smoking in a ditch. One thing’s for sure: you sign up for this ride, and Trouble in the Heartland will transport you somewhere unforgettable. Follow the Amazon link to see the complete list of authors and song titles that inspired this treasury of short stories…
SEE FULL BOOK SUMMARY & REVIEWS ON AMAZON…
Available in Paperback & Ebook
.
Twice each month, a newsletter is sent to members of the PDI
Book Club, giving them the opportunity to contribute book
suggestions for future blog entries. Click the image to the right
to join the club, receive the newsletter, and tell the world
what you’re reading…
Mailing Address for the show –
Mark DeWayne Combs / Public Display of Imagination
463063 State Road 200 Unit #1473
Yulee, FL 32097
.
Preview & Order Mark’s Motivational Books on Amazon:
..AMAZON LINK..
What is a goal? It’s been defined in many ways, most of them so complex that things get fuzzy and complicated. Put simply, a goal is something you want to do. PUSH is designed to help readers think about things more simply. Identify your goals and put forth the simple, dedicated effort to achieve them. Having acheived one goal, it becomes easier to pursue others. We tend to make it complex. PUSH seeks to make it simple.
PUSH is designed to help each reader find their own personal pathway of identity and, having found it, pursue their dreams in a simple, attainable fashion that leads to achievement. Broken into a handful of easy-to-read essays, PUSH mixes humor, common sense, and thought-provoking insight in an effort to give each reader the opportunity to see for themselves why they have absolutely no shot at ever being ordinary.
Available in Paperback & Ebook
..AMAZON LINK..
You’re being watched… You may not realize it, and the person watching you may never clue you in, but you’re being watched. It happens each day in the most undetectable way. Somewhere, someone is watching.
You touch more lives and topple more dominoes than you could ever imagine. For someone, you are the light in their darkness or the example to which they aspire. Completely disconnecting from the society in which we live is impossible. Even in death, our lives continue to touch others, both in the moment and as time slowly passes.
Don’t Forget Your Cape doesn’t dance off into the fancy world of who each person can be. I’ve always left that “think your way to wonderful” philosophy to other writers. It just doesn’t suit me and I’d bet that it doesn’t really suit you either. I’d rather be a part of a face-to-face journey that cuts through the fog and connects me with who I am. That’s where my value can be found and that’s where this journey takes each reader.
Available in Paperback & Ebook
..AMAZON LINK..
“Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” There’s a brilliant irony in that quote; no one claims authorship and no one seems to be able to identify its true origin. Although the world is very familiar with this song and dance, no one knows the singer or the dancer.
Why do you do what you do? It’s a useful question to ponder. If you knew that no one would hear your song, would you still sing? Knowing that the chairs in the auditorium will be empty, will you still take the stage and dance just as enthusiastically?
HELLO… Is This On? explores why we do what we do and speaks to our ability to develop self-trust and quiet confidence, even in the face of daunting circumstances or, in some cases, no measurable response at all.
Available in Paperback & Ebook
Preview and Order Mark's Motivational Books on Amazon:
What is a goal? It’s been defined in many ways, most of them so complex that things get fuzzy and complicated. Put simply, a goal is something you want to do. PUSH is designed to help readers think about things more simply. Identify your goals and put forth the simple, dedicated effort to achieve them.
You may not realize it, but you’re being watched. It happens each day in the most undetectable way. Somewhere, someone is watching. You touch more lives and topple more dominoes than you could ever imagine. For someone, you are the light in their darkness or the example to which they aspire.
Why do you do what you do? It’s a useful question to ponder. If you knew that no one would hear your song, would you still sing? Knowing that the chairs in the auditorium will be empty, will you still take the stage and dance just as enthusiastically? Explore why you do what you do and develop self-trust and quiet confidence.