Jeffrey Lee Carlson

When a professional skateboarder disappears under mysterious circumstances, a podcaster seems to be the only person interested in finding him. She has her own motivations, of course, and so begins an exploration into the little-known and unpredictable world of international skateboarding. Walker Ryan’s second novel is a tale of complicated friendships, hesitant romance and unexpected adventure.

My Seinfeld Year, and Five Minutes to Kill author Fred Stoller returns describing his complicated friendship with the comedy legend, Norm Macdonald. When comic actor, Fred Stoller appeared on Norm Macdonald’s video podcast, Norm MacDonald Live, many commented that Norm seemed to care about Fred, and had quite a fondness for him. And some noted Norm seemed like he was being a bully. Both those assessments may have been correct at different times. That’s what made their friendship so complicated.

The first novel set in the world of modern professional skateboarding, Top of Mason is an adventure story about a young man dealing with a break up and a late-20s identity crisis, intersecting the worlds of skateboarding, contemporary celebrity, and homelessness. All the characters are fictional, but the story is inspired by Walker Ryan's love for San Francisco and his appreciation for the many unique individuals he's met through skateboarding.

A small-town Florida teenager discovers punk rock through a loaned mix tape, and punk music and culture slowly takes over all aspects of his life. His new passion causes him to form a band, track down out-of-print records he loves and reissue them, open a record store, start a record distribution operation as a public service, mentor a host of young musicians, and befriend all manner of punk luminaries along the way. Slowly his life's pursuit pushes him to the point of personal ruination and, ultimately, redemption.