MADISON: RHETT MILLER

On Thursday, I left the awful Minneapolis hotel and headed east. My original intent had been to go straight through to Chicago, where I was set to read on Saturday, but I had found out that Rhett Miller (singer for the Old 97’s, who appears as a character in Hustle at a pivotal point in the central character Chris Saxton’s life) was playing an acoustic show in Madison. I decided to stop off, grab a hotel and a ticket, and take some downtime after what’s felt like two weeks of constant going. It was nice to only drive four hours, and I arrived in time to go for a run. On actual pavement.

The evening was terrific. Alex Dezen, of The Damnwells was great, as was Rhett. I was able to get a copy of the novel to him afterward, and hang out for a bit.

Also, I met and spoke with Alex, who is apparently a recent graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, currently writing what sounds like a phenomenal and unique novel.