Southbound – A Book for the Ages (It took to write it)

First of all, I’d like to thank Author’s Lounge for the opportunity write about this book, and Julia Valentina, for the invitation. Southbound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0184SEI8O/ holds a special place in my heart both because it’s my first published book, but more importantly, was loosely based on a friend of mine who died this past year.

Southbound is a composite novel comprised of short stories about Basement Man; moody drunk, sometime rock climber, absurdist philosopher, raconteur of the ridiculous, rogue, and not-so-merry prankster from the North End of Yonkers, aka Junkies Paradise. The character is an everyman for nobodies, ever adrift between the carrot of sobriety and the reality of carpe diem. Bowing only to the laws of Murphy, he can never decide whether the lucky ones are the survivors or those who died years ago.

The stories are told from different perspectives and by different narrators, such as other characters, third person omniscient, first person, etc. They are filled with literary allusions and references to music, film, and culture as well. Each tale stands alone, yet the whole adds up to the story of the main character’s life.

I initially wrote the title story for a college creative writing class back in 78 or 9. Several people from my neighborhood had drowned while drinking at a marina in Yonkers. One of those incidents involved the real Basement Man, and happened pretty much pretty much the way I wrote it. So, with a ready-made plot, I tried to concentrate on the details of location, symbolism, and the theme of not being able to get from point A to point B; a leitmotif which permeates all the tales. The story was something of a hit in the class, so I then wrote another one, After the Crux, for the same class. The rest took over 38 years, writing them in between my job as a PR and freelance writer, and working on other stories and poems.

During that time, I had no particular audience in mind. I basically wrote for myself, and the hope that it would connect with some editor, which a few did, in particular, one publication, Swift Kick, was interested in doing an entire collection. Unfortunately, being the slow writer I am, that never came to be.

It wasn’t until 2016, when it became possible to self-publish without being ripped off by a vanity press, that the book finally came into being.

From the various reviews and reactions to the book’s current incarnation, I’m gratified most readers have understood the themes and come to embrace the flawed, absurd protagonist.

I hope this continues in the future and that I can reach more readers; whether they buy the book or pick it up in one of the frequent giveaways I hold for the ebook edition. Basically, the stories are about the human condition; so, despite the character being rather abrasive, I think he manages to worm his way into their hearts. 

I’ve been writing all my life and currently live with my wife Aurora in Wingdale, NY. My work appears in a variety of small press, regional, and national publications. I also wrote propaganda for a variety of entities for some 25 years.

Books include four short story collections – Southbound, Shillelagh Law, Tales Told by an Idiot, and Thoreau the Meter; two poetry collections – Reflections of a Scurvy Bastard and Destination Known; and a spoof of “how-to-get-a-job” books, Dave Doolittle’s Resumes That Work, So You Don’t Have To.

I’m a former editor and critic for Hudson Valley, ran the Fiction Workshop for the Poughkeepsie Library District, and reviewed books and videos for Climbing, The American Book Review, Kirkus, and a number of other publications. My Amazon Author page is:    https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Ferguson/e/B01E672FQ4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1