He spent much of the 1990s as a homeless heroin addict in San Francisco, but managed to get off the streets and turn his life in a positive direction. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from Florida International University in 2008 and eventually returned to the Bay Area, where he currently lives with his wife and two sons. His autobiographical novel, JUNKIE LOVE, was published by “Battered Suitcase” in 2010 and chronicles his personal battle with drugs.
Today, he’s an acquisitions editor for Gutter Books and producer of “Lip Service West,” a gritty… real… raw… reading series in Oakland, CA. He writes the bestselling Jay Porter Thriller Series, which opened with a book titled, LAMENTATION, that was an Anthony Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel in 2015. The series is currently 5 books deep and has received rave reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many others.
He’s also editor of a couple of really enjoyable anthologies, which I’m sure we’ll talk about at some point during our conversation. He currently teaches online writing courses for LitReactor and speaks around the country at various writing conferences and retreats. Today, we’re going to dig into the storyline of his latest release, SKUNK TRAIN. Bestselling author Joe Clifford takes us on today’s adventure…