Hack’s close friend Rosanna De Candia started the second edition of her podcast Jersey Reads the Classics with the JM Barrie perennial “Peter Pan.” Hack wrote this novel about his own experiences with the book as a tribute.
The Peter Pan Complex
Category: Dangerous Dudes
The Return of the Grumpy Old Bastard
Hack wrote the first “Grumpy Old Bastard” earnestly about his efforts to teach the teenagers in his neighborhood some manners, and only claimed he meant it to be funny when everyone told him it was when it was when they read it in in proofs. For this sequel, he tried to make it funny and the thing fell right on its face.
Social Distancing
When Hack heard that everyone had to stay indoors because of the Covid-19 virus, he figured that meant that he could coerce beautiful young woman into shacking up in his bug-infested van. Instead, the few he was able to speak with carried six-foot poles to ensure that people were keeping their proper distance and if Hack tried to get any closer than that, they would crack him over the head with them.
The Grump Old Bastard
Hack had intended this to be the story of how he had heroically fought down some young thugs in his neighborhood but when everyone read the proofs, they congratulated him on writing a hilarious book about a mean-spirited old bastard who was constantly harassing innocent teens. He quietly changed the title from “The Hero of the Neighborhood” to “The Grumpy Old Bastard” and pretended that was what he had meant all along.
The Masked Creatures
When Hack went out grocery shopping for the staples of his diet during the coronavirus scare (Jack Daniels and Hershey bars), he found himself surrounded by so many people wearing surgical masks that he had a panic attack and collapsed. He woke up in Tijuana the next day with this manuscript in his pocket.
The Last Paper Towels on Earth
Hack wrote this after he went on Amazon.com during the coronavirus panic and saw that they had paper towels “in stock,” so he tried to order some only to get an error that no delivery time was available. To be brutally honest, he lives in a van like an animal and has no need for paper towels but he was still pretty upset.
The Show Must Go On
Hack’s friend Eddie Frierson (see Mayonnaise is Nonsense) is an actor famous for a one-man show he performs about 16th century baseball player Christy Mathewson. When Frierson snubbed his nose at the coronavirus scare and performed the play in Los Angeles, Hack wrote this novel in tribute.
Cult of the Snuffed Pug
Hack wrote this to get revenge on his cover artist Jonny M.’s pug Boris after the dog urinated in his vodka tonic. Boris had the ultimate retribution when he sued Hack for libel and collected a six-figure settlement.
The Journey of the Man Who Farted
This was the finale in the “Man Who Farted” series, in which French Stewart travels to a far-off land to be treated for his malady. It ends happily when he is put on a high fiber diet.
The Attack of the Man Who Farted
The third in the “Man Who Farted” series was inspired an experience Hack had on a packed escalator where a dude whose cornhole was positioned immediately in front of Hack’s face cut a massive whopper at point blank range.
Hack wrote the book while in the intensive care unit.