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The Losers Club

THE LOSERS CLUB (currently known as THE LOSERS' CLUB: Complete Restored Edition!) by Richard Perez

About Me

Yeah, I'm another fucking writer on myspace. To find out more about me and my new work, please visit my new website.
I hope you'll check out my last book, THE LOSERS' CLUB (more on that below). To those who already have, let me just say thanks. Regardless of what you may think, I truly wrote it from the heart.Don't be shy to message me, by the way.
T H E L O S E R S' C L U B


Storia D'Amore All'East Village … (Italian language translation of The Losers' Club) published Neri Pozza Editore, in Milano, Italy, 2008
Original U.S. version of The Losers’ Club: Complete Restored Edition! published in NYC, 7th printing, 2007
The Korean language translation of The Losers' Club published by Humandom, in Seoul, South Korea, 2007
Kaybedenler Kulübü ... (Turkish language translation of The Losers' Club) published by Say Yayinlari, in Istanbul, Turkey, 2007
T H E L O S E R S' C L U B


"A story of youth, very well told, and it dwells in the mind long after a reader finishes it."
-- Joanne Greenberg, author: I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN
"A very beautiful valentine to a time and place almost faded from existence."
-- Mary Gaitskill, author: BAD BEHAVIOR, VERONICA
"I couldn't put it down. It's a brave book with a great deal of heart."
-- Poppy Z. Brite, author: LOST SOULS, LIQUOR: A NOVEL
"Reading Richard Perez's THE LOSERS' CLUB was a revelation to me. It is a novel by turns funny, poignant, and illuminating, perfect in its portraits of both the East Village scene of the mid-'90s and the often desperate personal ads subculture in New York City. Yet it is much more than a fictionalized social document· Beneath Perez's dead-on descriptions of downtown clubs and bars and of the people who patronized them is a sense of deep longing for what has been lostand for what may never be had. Perez's is an exciting talent and his work far beyond most of what is published today."
-- Henry Flesh, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of MICHAEL and MASSAGE
"Richard Perez has the ears of the angels -- lend him yours."
-- Barry Gifford, author: WILD AT HEART
"Richard Perez's The Losers' Club moves fast without blurring, and documents New York City in all its self-invented variety: kitsch/retro bars and cafes, goth vampires, dyke rock bands, desperately clever personal ads, the endless cruise for a parking space, and loneliness so relentless its victims wind up feeling stillborn. In its quicksilver way, Perez's novel manages to be cheerful, bleak, and edgy all at once."
-- John Vernon, author: A BOOK OF REASONS, PETER DOYLE
"Along with all its flamboyant extremes...an appealingly old fashioned love story at its core."
-- Madison Smartt Bell, author: ALL SOULS' RISING, TEN INDIANS
"Richard Perez is a clear-eyed chronicler of the New York club scene and a compassionate observer of the lives lived in the carnival at the center of the world. He is a sociologist and a historian, telling the truth about the way we live now. He's funny, honest, and compassionate. We can only hope that The Losers' Club is but the first act in Richard Perez's Human Comedy."
-- John Dufresne, author, LOUISIANA POWER & LIGHT, LOVE WARPS THE MIND A LITTLE
"It is a book to be savored."
-- Tim Sandlin, author: SORROW FLOATS, SOCIAL BLUNDERS
"The Losers' Club evokes a real and genuine sense of place -- the world of the East Village -- and people -- single, young and desperate -- written with zest, energy and enthusiasm."
-- Tama Janowitz, author: SLAVES OF NEW YORK
"Funny and endearingand wisely not so hip as to avoid a good grab for your heart."
-- Marcie Hershman, author: SAFE IN AMERICA, TALES OF THE MASTER RACE

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W H A T I S L O V E ?

Set in downtown New York City, The Losers Club tells the story of Martin Sierra, an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. His journey brings us into the East Village, pre-9/11and in contact with Nikki, his dream woman, who remains unattainable romantically yet becomes his friend and confidant during his illuminating misadventures. Populated with characters and surprises few will ever forget, this energetic, comic novel is as much about a generation (we won't say "X") as it is about a specific time and place.
"The Losers' Club is a vibrant and hopeful anthem for all of us 'losers' who choose not to wallow (for too long!) in our despair and who find the will to keep searching." -- Heather Lowcock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington KY*
------------- BOOK SENSE 76 TOP TEN PICK!*
----------------- Read the Richard Perez interview
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My Interests

Yep, that's me -- Rich "somewhere in losers-ville" Perez:
DROP ME A LINE!...

"You are what you love...not what loves you...."

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
-- Pablo Picasso

INTERESTS: Films, (outsider, underground, indie, retro-exploitation, sexploitation-noir, grindhouse), Writing, Books, Art, NYC's East Village

CLICK HERE ---- to read a past NEW YORK TIMES article of mine

I'd like to meet:


Friends and Dreamers and Courageous Misfits... then: Stephen Elliot, P.T. Anderson, David Mamet, Roger Corman, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch....True Supporters like you.... Please TAKE ME HOME! ---------------- PICK UP A QUICK COPY



Aqui, por favor! Aqui, por favor! Aqui, por favor!

"I'd been looking for a copy of The Losers' Club by Richard Perez for a few months without any luck. Goddamn bookstores—they don't carry anything worth your while...."

(Page 55: Bandanas & October Supplies by M. Dylan Raskin)

-- To purchase -- CLICK HERE --

And now, the great Amy Winehouse, ladies and gentlemen:

"Love Is A Losing Game"

Music:

MUSIC: As with films, I have an obsession with retro-'70s & '60s stuff. Favorite song ever: "Little Wing" by Hendrix, second fav: "Strawberry Letter 23" by Shuggie Otis. Others: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thelonious Monk, T-Rex, Amy Winehouse, Sly and The Family Stone, The Delgados, Hendrix, Bjork, Nick Drake, White Stripes, Syd Barrett, Kurt Cobain, many more ... I also love film soundtracks, especially by Phillip Glass, insanely passionate Spanish Gypsy music...

... Elliot Smith haunts my dreams....

Movies:


Click here for my nutty list of exploitation movies, entitled: ---- So you'd like to... Enjoy PSYCHO-SEXUAL - 42nd STREET GRINDHOUSE favorites!...
Click here for my David Lynch list, entitled: ---- DAVID LYNCH Unique American Artist...
The truth is that I love exploitation + art films ... low brow and high brow art in various combinations.
SOME FAVORITES: Drugstore Cowboy, Taxi Driver, 42nd Street Forever, Naked Killer, I Stand Alone, Pulp Fiction, Boogie Nights, Schlock!, Black Snake Moan, Kids, Rushmore, Pan's Labyrinth, Royal Tannenbaums, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Bukowski: Born Into This, American Beauty, 13 Conversations About One Thing, Trainspotting, True Romance, Big Doll House, Coffy, Foxy Brown, Rize, Kill Bill, Masculin Feminin
Breaking The Waves, Amelie, Boys Don't Cry, Adaptation, Band of Outsiders, Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man (Universal Horror films all special), Attack of the Crab Monsters, Pets (1972), Alice In Wonderland (X version), The Defilers, The Devil's Rejects, Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Breathless, 400 Blows, Umberto D., Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, City Of God, Head-On, Pulp Fiction, Death Race 2000, Big Bad Mama, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Blacksnake (most Russ Meyer)

Television:



Taxi Confessions, Intervention, Six Feet Under (RIP), Cold Case Files, Arrested Development (RIP), assorted Twilight Zone episodes, Maxwell Smart, Honeymooners, old Bugs Bunny cartoons, old Daffy Duck, Futurama, assorted Aqua Teens

Books:



Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary by Hunter Thompson
Please, SUPPORT OUTSIDER AUTHORS!
Sex, Blood and Rock 'n' Roll by Kimberly Warner-Cohen
Hollywood Cult Killers, She Lost Control by Justin Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Generally, I'm of the "Dirty Realist" school, enjoying writers who are less academic and more lowdown and raw. Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, Jim Carroll, Henry Miller ....
The Last Night of the Earth Poems by Charles Bukowski
Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City: A Memoir by Nick Flynn
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense by Charles Bukowski
Play the Piano Drunk by Charles Bukowski
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
Arthur Nersesian: Dogrun, The Fuck-Up, Chinese Takeout
Lynda Barry:
Cruddy
Iain Levison:
A Working Stiff's Manifesto : A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember

Judith Rossner:
Looking for Mr Goodbar

John Fante:
Ask the Dust
Henry Miller:
Tropic of Cancer, Quiet Days in Cliche, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricorn
Mary Gaitskill:
Bad Behavior
Nick Hornby:
High Fidelity
Jay McInerney:
Bright Lights, Big City
Dave Eggers:
AHWOSG
Film-maker bios, particularly about the marginalized: David L. Friedman, Roger Corman, Russ Meyer
Sleazoid Express by Bill Landis, Michelle Clifford,
Attack of B Movie Posters by Bruce Hershenson (I never get tired of looking at this book),
Nightmare Of Ecstasy (bio of Ed Wood, which is unforgetable)
The Happiest Man Alive by Mary V. Dearborn (biography of Henry Miller)

Heroes:

Stephen Elliot, Russ Meyer, Eric Stanton, Vladimir Nabokov, Michelle Tea, Jack Kerouac, Richard Yates, William Blake, David Mamet, Roger Corman,
Gus Van Sant, Walt Whitman, John Fante, Pablo Neruda, Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Bukowski, Jim Carroll, Henry Miller, Ed Wood, Quentin Tarantino
David Lynch, that's right....

David L. Friedman, Roger Corman, Russ Meyers, John Waters ... even Ed Wood -- all these people did THE BEST they could with what they had (money, talent, et al); at least they had the courage to get their work out there, which is the most important thing of all.
MY FAVORITE BOOKSTORE: St. Mark's Bookshop CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
MY FAVORITE CINEMA: The Sunshine (on East Houston Street) Oh, how I love it... Please support this beautiful establishment!...
You Are Pop Art
When it comes to art, you're definitely not a snob.
You can appreciate the mainstream aspects of culture, even if you need to twist them a bit to make them your own.
Whether you're into comics, retro pinups, or bold colors, you embrace what's eye catching and simple.
As far as most other art goes, you consider it a little too elitist and high brow for your tastes! What Art Movement Are You?

My Blog

Permanent Obscurity: the first 78 pages of my new novel: PART FOUR

PERMANENT OBSCURITY (part 4 ... continued)-------------------------------------------------- -- © 2008-2009 Richard Perez>    So, about these peeps? Serena's back-road friends? Appa...
Posted by The Losers Club on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:20:00 PST

Permanent Obscurity: the first 78 pages of my new novel: PART THREE

PERMANENT OBSCURITY (part 3 ... continued)-------------------------------------------------- -- © 2008-2009 Richard Perez>   The first thing we did, once in Bar Harbor, was to confirm th...
Posted by The Losers Club on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:14:00 PST

Permanent Obscurity: the first 78 pages of my new novel: PART TWO

PERMANENT OBSCURITY (part 2 ... continued)-------------------------------------------------- -- © 2008-2009 Richard Perez>   Of course, I called him later. Called him at home, after my c...
Posted by The Losers Club on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:56:00 PST

Permanent Obscurity: the first 78 pages of my new novel: PART ONE

Permanent Obscurity.I haven't looked at it in 6 months, and of course right away I began tweaking it.As I mention on PermanentObscurity.com, the website for the book, the novel has several subversive ...
Posted by The Losers Club on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:41:00 PST

>>>> Exposing Myself + More Literary/Cultural Artifacts <<<<

"Fools create Their own paradise." -- C. BukowskiWell, I've decided, next time around, to post the first 70 (double-spaced) pages of my novel, Permanent Obscurity, here on myspace. Why? I don't k...
Posted by The Losers Club on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 PST

December, 1996 ... or when I just finished The Losers Club (the first draft anyway) ....

One day in December of 1996, I borrowed a camera from a friend and scratched up the money for film and went about the neighborhood of the Lower East Side (which includes The East Village and Alphabet ...
Posted by The Losers Club on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:47:00 PST

Bukowskis WOMEN <<<< Re-examined <------------

"Maybe I should have slammed her? How did a man know what to do? Generally, I decided, it was better to wait, if you had any feeling for the individual. If you hated her right off, it was better to fu...
Posted by The Losers Club on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:22:00 PST

>>> Literary artifacts that give me a HARD-ON <<<

Here's a confession: I'm a materialist. Why else would silly little artifacts such as these make my day?Everything here was picked up at the Strand Book Store in NYC. All around $1.Maybe it's just som...
Posted by The Losers Club on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:45:00 PST

My Eric Stanton biography (the first 3 chapters, at least)

Everyone knows who Robert Crumb is.But how many people have heard of Eric Stanton? I've been putting together a biography on Eric Stanton, since so few people know anything about him. The first 3 chap...
Posted by The Losers Club on Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:11:00 PST

RUN WITH THE HUNTED: re-discovering Bukowskis great short stories

I finished re-reading RUN WITH THE HUNTED: A CHARLES BUKOWSKI READER, and as I've said to a few others here I'm really impressed by his dialogue. His short stories, in particular, are really good. Bet...
Posted by The Losers Club on Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:34:00 PST