June 7, 2013 In a wide-ranging interview with Exclaim!’s Jason Schneider, musician Steve Earle has announced his plans to write a memoir in addition to the novel he already has in progress. “It’s the book I swore I would never write,” he said, explaining that the motivation for changing his mind was clear: “There were a lot of reasons that mainly had to do with money. My little boy has autism, and the school that he just started in last week, finally, is really expensive, and I don’t have that much money,” Earle explained. “I went back to my editor looking for solutions to pay for my son’s schooling and asked him how much would a memoir be worth. He told me, and it was way more [than a novel].” Consequently, the new novel will follow the release of the memoir, which has not yet been scheduled.
The books will be Earle’s third and fourth, following the novel I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive and the short story collection Doghouse Roses. Still, he’s not resting on his literary laurels. “The bar is really high,” he admitted. “I’m competing with Patti Smith and Bob Dylan. I think a lot is expected since I’ve written a lot of other stuff.” Earle’s three-act literary memoir will be titled, I Can’t Remember If We Said Goodbye, and each act will follow important figures and “mentors” that have made significant impressions on both his personal and professional life. Despite a busy tour schedule, Earle isn’t worried. “I should be able to get it all done on the road by my deadline in November since I don’t have to make any of it up.”
To read Chapter 16’s review of I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive, click here.
Tagged: Nonfiction
