Mar 13, 2014
SHOTGUN LOVESONGS is the debut novel of Nickolas Butler, whose writing has appeared in Narrative Magazine, Ploughshares, The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere. Along the way, he has worked as a telemarketer, a coffee roaster, a meatpacker, an innkeeper (twice), a liquor store clerk, an office manager, a hot dog vendor, and an author escort. SHOTGUN LOVESONGS is the story of four friends who were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town, and the powerful, tensile bond of their friendship --- held together by the inescapable pull of home.
In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Jennifer Romanello, Butler talks about the inspiration behind Little Wing, the town at the heart of the novel --- a setting that is so seamlessly integrated into the plot that it’s almost its own character. He also reveals why he decided to tell the story from multiple perspectives, the paradox of celebrity, and what he’s working on next.