When I visited Las Vegas in early December, Shine a Light’s Paul Vautrinot and I gave veteran Channel 3 reporter Denise Rosch a tour of the underground flood channels. Her story, which focuses on the drains and people who made it out of them, as detailed in my book Dark Days, Bright Nights, aired last night at 11. Along with Paul (a.k.a. “Shaggy”), two other people from the book—Beth “Half Pint” Brower and Susan “One Shoe Sue” Otis—are featured in the story.
Thirty Years Ago
As some of you may recall, much of my youth was misspent on the outdoor basketball courts of Decatur and Atlanta, Georgia. I also played ball for Decatur High, Georgia State University and the University of West Georgia.
My sophomore year at State, we won our conference tournament and got an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. That, remarkably, was 30 years ago.
To mark the anniversary, Dave Cohen, “The Voice of the Panthers,” is interviewing players and coaches from that team (and from the 2001 tourney team). I recently spoke to Dave about DHS hoops, my career at State, the ’91 team, my time in Las Vegas and my latest book, Dark Days, Bright Nights: Surviving the Las Vegas Storm Drains.
PS- my audio is a little low and muffled; I did the interview from San Salvador via Zoom
PPS- with shout-outs to Melvin Howard, Darryl Gresham, Phillip Luckydo, Mark Thompson, Travis Williams and many others
Question of the Day
The Las Vegas Advisor’s Question of the Day is: “I see that Matt O’Brien has another book out about the storm tunnels of Las Vegas, but it was published by a different company. Why didn’t Huntington Press publish the sequel to Beneath the Neon?”
If you’re interested in the answer, from Huntington Press’ perspective (which I feel is fair and accurate), click on the link below.
PS- The Advisor and Huntington Press are part of the same company.
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/dark-days-bright-nights/
KNPR’s “State of Nevada”
I was recently on KNPR’s “State of Nevada,” discussing my latest book:
USA Today
Ed Komenda’s Reno Gazette Journal story about Beth Brower, who is featured in my book Dark Days, Bright Nights, was picked up by USA Today.
Dark Days, Bright Nights update
My book Dark Days, Bright Nights: Surviving the Las Vegas Storm Drains has been available for only a few days, but it has already raised $1,350 for Shine a Light (25 percent of my advance and audio-book licensing payment, and the photographer Steve Fanell’s entire check). Twenty-five percent of the royalties I make off of the book will also be donated to Shine a Light.
To learn more about Dark Days, Bright Nights, which Kirkus described as “powerful and relentlessly honest,” please visit http://beneaththeneon.com/dark-days-bright-nights/.
To learn more about Shine a Light, a Freedom House Sober Living program that helps the people who live in the drains, please visit http://beneaththeneon.com/shine-a-light/.
Go West write-up
Go West, the online magazine of the University of West Georgia, recently published a piece related to my latest book. The story, among other things, touches on how a paper in a history class at the school helped launch my writing career.
https://www.westga.edu/news/alumni-and-friends/alum-pens-best-seller.php
Half Pint and the Tunnel Man
Half Pint and the Tunnel Man. That’s how Beth Brower and I jokingly refer to ourselves. It’s a long story, and a relationship that’s somewhat difficult to explain, but Reno Gazette Journal reporter Ed Komenda captures the essence of it here, through the frame of my new book, Dark Days, Bright Nights: Surviving the Las Vegas Storm Drains.
Dark Days, Bright Nights excerpt
My book Dark Days, Bright Nights: Surviving the Las Vegas Storm Drains will be available tomorrow. If you’re interested in learning more about the book, please click on the link below. It’s an excerpt, chapter one, in which I ask the storm-drain survivors how they discovered the underground flood channels, and it will give you some idea of the narrative and structure.
Thanks to my former Las Vegas CityLife colleague Jimmy Boegle and his publication, the Coachella Valley Independent, for running the excerpt!
Living Las Vegas review
A thoughtful review of Dark Days, Bright Nights by popular website Living-Las-Vegas.com:
Book Review: “Dark Days, Bright Nights: Surviving the Las Vegas Storm Drains”