Zig Zag

A book that starts with an epigraph from D.C. Berman already has me eating out of its hand but then J.D. O’Brien goes and ups the ante. Zig Zag is a cosmic American crime odyssey that’s reminiscent of Barry Gifford, James Crumley, Charles Portis, Elmore Leonard, and Charles Willeford. Wild, funny, and entertaining as hell. Capri Dall and Harry Robatore are characters I won't soon forget.” -William Boyle, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out, City of Margins, and A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself

"An at times funny, at times hard-boiled, at times sweetly sad crime romp set in some of the scuzzier pockets of Southern California. J.D. O'Brien lovingly limns these divey bars, rundown motels, and ticky-tacky apartments and brings to life the stoned and soused oddballs who stumble through them. It's Elmore Leonard meets Warren Zevon with a wry sensibility all its own, and I enjoyed every page of it."- Richard Lange, author of Rovers, The Smack, and Angel Baby

“Feels like a great 70s movie.”– David Gordon Green, director of Pineapple Express

“A Stoned Odyssey Across The Dive Bars, Neon-Lit Motels, And Lost Highways Of The American West”

– Mike Postalakis, author of L.A. By Mouth: The Essential Guide To Eating In Los Angeles

“A rare debut crime novel with the hardboiled humor of Charles Willeford and Barry Gifford, J.D. O’Brien’s saga of a dope-smoking, Nudie suit-wearing bail bondsman is a freewheeling oater for the ages.”

– Jim Ruland, author of Forest Of Fortune, Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall Of SST Records

PUBLICITY AND MARKETING

Target audience:

Adult fiction readers, both men and women, ages 25-on

crime fiction readers, readers of noir fiction,

marijuana enthusiasts and those interested in the legalized pot industry

Americana music fans, enthusiasts of country-western music and western kitsch-culture

Fans of serio-comic and noir films (“Raising Arizona”,”Fargo” “Pulp Fiction”) and TV series such as “Breaking Bad”

Publicity efforts will focus on national and regional media outlets. Regional efforts will target the author’s current locale (Massachusetts and New England) as well as the book’s setting (Southern California, Mojave Desert/San Fernando Valley region).

National outlets (print & digital): The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreword Reviews Los Angeles Review of Books, Rolling Stone,

Trade Publications and Reviews: Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Shelf Awareness, Book Riot

Mystery Publications: Crime Reads

Pop-Culture Publications: Aquarium Drunkard. No Depression, Volume 1 Brooklyn, , Mojo,

Marijuana and Alternate Lifestyle: Heads Lifestyle, High Times, Pursuit Magazine, Cannabis Now

Regional outlets and Alternative Weeklies (print & digital): Valley Advocate, DigBoston, Worcester Magazine, Portland Phoenix, Coachella Valley Independent, San Fernando Valley Sun, The Van Nuys News Press

Podcasts: Apology Magazine, Otherppl, Writer Types, How Long Gone, Thriller Zone, Bookin’, Selected Prose.

Advertising (print & digital): Publisher’s note: $5,000 Advertising budget for print and online opps.

Bookforum, Aquarium Drunkard, Crime Reads, LitHub, High Times, Heads Lifestyle, No Depression, Pursuit Magazine, Cannabis Now

Author appearances: Efforts will focus on the Massachusetts and New England area, Southern California and other key locations where the author has media connections, and will include among others Powell’s Books (Portland, OR), Odyssey Bookshop (South Hadley, MA), Book Moon (Easthampton, MA), Amherst Books (Amherst, MA), Broadside Bookshop (Northampton, MA), The Mysterious Bookshop (New York, NY), The Last Bookstore (Los Angeles, CA), Vroman’s Books (Pasadena, CA), Book Soup (West Hollywood)