The Big Comb Over: Family Satire, Farce; Magical realism by J.P. Rieger book tour with giveaway

 

THE BIG COMB OVER

J.P. Rieger

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GENRE:  Family satire; Farce; Magical realism

 

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BLURB:

 

Three nephews and three eccentric uncles.

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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.

 

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EXCERPT

He was thinking that the man’s accent could be Irish. But more Cockney, almost. Odd. He saw the man thrust his hand forward.

 

“Name’s Roy.” He shook Roy’s hand, earnestly.

 

“Name’s Dixon. Pleasure to meet you.” He glanced over at Roy’s suit. “Nice couture! A refreshing play on seersucker! ‘Maison Dixon’ is mine. Curious to hear about yours!”

 

Roy felt a bit confused. He had already introduced himself. He figured maybe those white things were hearing aids. And he had a crazy name. “Ya said yours is Mason Dixon?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Like your Mason-Dixon line?”

 

“Well, thank you, Roy! Which particular line do you favor?”

 

Roy felt confused again. “Favor? Well, I was thinkin’ of the long one? The old one?”

 

Bertram nodded, knowingly. Nice to know the “Smart Man” line was still revered. Teddy had been encouraging him to drop it. “Yes, Smart Man, a long and successful line.”

 

Roy nodded. “Why, thanks, Mr. Dixon. But I would reckon everbody ’roun here’s heard of it. Don’t take too much brains. Historical, like.”

 

“Brilliant! Thanks, Roy. That’s my job. To keep those lines out in the public’s mind.”

 

Roy scratched at his rusty beard stubble. “So, like, ya do surveys, still? Ta mark the lines?”

 

“Well, certainly. But those are a little old school. We don’t always attach a survey to each line we produce. We get things done more with social media. Influencers, mainly. Good judges of the zeitgeist.”

 

Roy was thinking that surveyors setting lines without surveys didn’t sound very safe. And he wasn’t sure about the rest. “Ya done anything here in Bawlmer? Any new ones?” Roy had been shopping at that new supermarket in Middle River. He wanted to make sure the building was safe. He was hoping Mr. Dixon’s company was not involved.

 

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Our Thoughts:

It took me a couple of chapters to assimilate

But once it was complete

I had so much fun hanging out with Robbie and his "family"

The storyline does the time warp, current timeline then back to previous events then back to the present, to get the vast amount of background and character information downloaded to the reader

It did take me a few chapters to get to know who was who and what was what but after I got that down the rest was an absolute ab crunching, laugh out loud, mishap here, and oops moment there, thrill ride a chapter

A great read that delves into family ties and how the dysfunctional is actually functional.

Well for the most part

And don't fear all those moments that left you with more questions than answers, you get them eventually

Patience

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INTERVIEW:

If you could have one superhuman ability, what would it be? I already have one! I can become invisible, at will! Basically, any normally-attired, 68-year-old guy wandering around in a public place is invisible. As long as he doesn’t draw attention to himself, no one notices him or cares one bit about anything he’s doing.  

What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you? I played guitar and bass in an ‘80’s Neo-Psychedelic band, United States of Existence. In fact, my bandmates and I reunited post COVID to work on music again. We are located in different states, now, but transfer song files to one another remotely over the web.

When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with? I try to avoid describing any of my characters in precise terms. I drop a few details as the story progresses to give the reader a general sense. And then I let the reader’s imagination fill in the gaps.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? My spouse says I’m a “plodder.” But I see myself as more of a “plontser,” a combination of plotter and pantser. I usually have a basic plot outline comprised of an assemblage of “scenes.” Then, as I write a scene, if any good ideas spring to mind, I throw them in.

Did you learn anything from writing this book? If so, what? I learned to never be a playwright. I had begun writing The Big Comb Over as a play. I enjoy reading plays and figured, “What the heck.” Maybe I could write one? But I quickly realized that, besides knowing very little about writing a play, I had way too many characters and setting changes for a play to be workable. Plus, I almost always write in a nonlinear fashion and it would be hard to communicate temporal movements in a play.  

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

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

 

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GIVEAWAY 

 A randomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/BN gift card - a Rafflecopter giveaway.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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