Author Willy Vlautin is getting just a little tired of the rain. He loves his home in the area of Portland, Oregon, but it has been raining for days and he鈥檇 like a break.
That鈥檚 one reason Vlautin, who is also a singer and songwriter, is looking forward to visiting 蜜柚直播 for the 2020 蜜柚直播 Festival of Books.
鈥溍坭种辈 has always been one of my favorite places,鈥 Vlautin said. 鈥淚鈥檝e spent a lot of time there.鈥
He says that鈥檚 why, in his latest book, 鈥淒on鈥檛 Skip Out on Me,鈥 he had the protagonist end up in 蜜柚直播. It gave him an excuse to come visit and think about 蜜柚直播 as a character in his book.
Many know Vlautin as a singer and songwriter. Others know him as an author of several novels. Until recently there weren鈥檛 many who knew him as both.
He said he could be at a book event and those fans may not even know he plays the guitar until he plays a song related to one of his books. For others, Vlautin said, 鈥淚鈥檒l be playing gigs and my books will be on the merchant table, and they鈥檒l go 鈥楳an, he writes books.鈥 Now more people know I do both.鈥
People are also reading…
Vlautin will do both at the festival on March 14 and 15. He will participate in the following panels:
- 鈥淎 New Kind of Western,鈥 is at 10 a.m. March 14 in the Student Union Kachina Room, with other panelists Emily Nemens and Shannon Pufahl.
- 鈥淣avigating Rough Terrain,鈥 at 4 p.m. March 14 in the University of 蜜柚直播 Library Special Collections, which also includes authors Philip Caputo and Karl Marlantes. They will talk about men searching for identity in belonging.
- 鈥淎uthors and Artists and Musicians, Oh My鈥 at 11:30 a.m. March 15, in the Student Union 蜜柚直播 Room, includes Vlautin and writer/musician Brian Jabas Smith and writer/artist Chris Rush.
- At 鈥淢aking Music,鈥 at 4 p.m. March 15, in the UA Mall Tent, Vlautin will talk about how his music influences his writing with moderator James Reel.
The ideas for his books have all started with songs, Vlautin said.
鈥淪ome songs trigger an idea that won鈥檛 stop,鈥 he said. His novel 鈥淒on鈥檛 Skip Out on Me,鈥 started with a song of the same name. 鈥淚鈥檝e always written in the folk tradition where (the songs) are story based. Some songs open up another world. This song did that.鈥
Vlautin was a songwriter long before he became a published novelist. He wrote books for fun from the age of 18 to 35, but he never had the confidence to show anyone until his band, Richmond Fontaine, started doing better, building his confidence. He was being interviewed by a journalist who was also a novelist. The interviewer asked if Vlautin wrote fiction and introduced him to an agent. He showed her the book, 鈥淭he Motel Life,鈥 and it was published as his first novel. 鈥淒on鈥檛 Skip Out on Me鈥 is his fifth published novel and more will come.
He now writes music and plays with the group The Delines. Their music leans heavily on 鈥渃ountry soul ballads鈥 according to Vlautin. The band does really well in Europe and is becoming more well-known in the United States.
However, he feels he is more suited to writing books. With being in a band, 鈥渟uch a big part is performing,鈥 he explained. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been a workhorse so I like the grunt work of a novel more than I like the grunt work of sitting in a van and unloading gear and playing gigs. Working on a novel is my favorite thing.鈥
Fortunately for his fans, he鈥檒l continue writing both books and songs.
