Vaping is the new mainstream thing for the younger folk, especially those who love the zeal of lively parties. Amidst a large variety, only a few names prove to be worthy of attention in the industry of quality vapes.
Hyde is one such brand in the market that sets amazing standards for the right vaping devices. This vaping company has seen great success because of its genuine offerings and great prices.
Yes, you got it right: Hyde oversees one of the most successful sales due to its fantastic qualities. This article will tell you all about the awesome features of Hyde vapes that will surely justify their success in the market.
Hyde Vape And Its Distinguishing Features To Know About
In the world of vaping, Hyde vape comes as an effortless solution to quick nicotine hits but without too much hassle. Here are all the features that Hyde Vapes has to offer that are sure to have you choosing them for your next vaping requirement!
Worldwide Accessibility
Hyde caters to a major part of the world with great accessibility. No matter if you are sitting in a faraway state in the US or outside of the country itself, Hyde will ship you all the vaping gadgets that you need for a smooth experience.
Hyde’s products have not only left a mark in the US but also around the world, promoting great accessibility on the brand’s end towards you.
Easy Return Policy
If the vapes at Hyde are not to your liking, the brand takes care of even that aspect very well. If you are not satisfied with the taste, quality, or any other quality of the vapes, you can report for a hassle-free return in no time!
Hyde offers a 30-day return policy that ensures all of your money is refunded back to your account.
Affordable Pricing
Hyde is all about giving more for less. Combos and individual vapes on Hyde are available at highly affordable prices that allow anyone looking to make the change to vaping to be more in touch with quality products.
Hyde vapes are all about never having to overpay for a good vaping experience but instead getting it for a pocket-friendly amount. Those looking for high-quality vapes at good pricing are going to love Hyde’s offerings.
Authenticity Guarantee
Hyde takes care of expert quality parameters being met so you only get the most advanced and safest vaping products.
This has won this brand worldwide recognition and customer satisfaction. A strict regulation of quality in every vape helps Hyde deliver one of the world’s finest vaping offerings.
Lots Of Flavours
Like Elf Bar, Hyde also offers a diverse range of flavors for both newbies and pro vapers! Choose from their assortment of strawberry, blueberry, banana, classic tobacco, menthol, pink lemonade, strawberry ice cream, peach, ice, and other exquisite flavors to uplift your vaping experience.
Wide Array Of Offerings
Just upon visiting their website, you can see that Hyde vapes come in all different shapes, shades, designs, and variants that you can choose from. Each has the purpose of simplifying your work so your vaping session becomes seamless.
These portable solutions are a go-to if you are looking for quality and convenience combined. The most popular offerings include ICON, disposable, DUO, REBEL, Curve, Edge, N-bar, etc.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hyde vapes are an exciting option that boasts good prices, easy returns, customer satisfaction, good accessibility, and amazing nicotine hits.
A lot of vapers prefer Hyde’s inclusive approach towards its customers, which helps them gain access to the best vapes in the market. With an impressive disposable vape collection, Hyde is on its way to taking over the market!
MGMT have announced their fifth studio album, Loss of Life. The follow-up to 2018’s Little Dark Age arrives February 23 via Mom+Pop. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the new single ‘Mother Nature’. Check out the Jordan Fish-directed video for it below, and scroll down for the LP’s cover artwork and tracklist.
Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser worked on Loss of Life with producer Patrick Wimberly and longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann, who has contributed to all of the band’s studio records. Spanning 10 tracks, the album features a collaboration with Christine and the Queens, marking the first-ever official feature on an MGMT album. Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), Brian Burton (Danger Mouse), and James Richardson provided additional production on the track.
According to the band, ‘Mother Nature’ “outlines the archetypical MGMT mythology of one hero attempting to get the other hero to come on the journey that they ‘must’ go on. One part sounds like Oasis.”
Speaking about the record, the duo said: “All joking aside (never!), we are very proud of this album and the fact that it was a relatively painless birth after a lengthy gestation period, and are happy to be releasing this baby into the world with Mom+Pop. Musically speaking, we are running at around 20% adult contemporary and no more than this, please.”
Loss of Life Cover Artwork:
Loss of Life Tracklist:
1. Loss Of Life (part 2)
2. Mother Nature
3. Dancing In Babylon [feat. Christine and the Queens]
4. People In The Streets
5. Bubblegum Dog
6. Nothing To Declare
7. Nothing Changes
8. Phradie’s Song
9. I Wish I Was Joking
10. Loss Of Life
Unlocking the Power of Guided Selling in Modern Commerce
In the rapidly evolving world of commerce, how you sell can be just as crucial as what you sell. As customer tastes and preferences shift toward personalized engagements, guided selling has emerged as a key differentiator for businesses seeking to maintain a competitive edge. Keep reading for an in-depth look at guided selling best practices and how to integrate it into your sales strategy.
Understanding Guided Selling in Today’s Market
To contextualize the importance of guided selling, it may be helpful to first understand exactly what it is. At its core, guided selling is a consultative approach to sales that seeks to help customers make decisions with confidence. This customer-centric approach allows businesses to build deep and long-lasting relationships with their customers.
Guided selling is not solely about selling a product or service—it’s about presenting shoppers with the right information at the right time. It’s an effective method of driving conversion by simplifying complex purchasing decisions and reducing purchase anxiety among customers.
The aim of guided selling is not to push a product or a pitch but to guide the customer through their decision-making process. It’s about establishing trust, understanding the customer’s needs, and recommending solutions that best address those needs.
As such, guided selling is becoming increasingly significant in today’s digital shopping landscape where consumers are often overwhelmed by copious options and decisions. Incorporating this approach into your strategy can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, promoting repeated business.
Best Practices for Implementing Guided Selling
The key to implementing guided selling successfully lies in understanding your customer’s unique journey. Take time to study your customer’s patterns and purchasing behaviors. Craft your selling process to align with this journey, ensuring your guidance is relevant and timely.
Training is crucial. Ensure your sales team is well equipped with the necessary product knowledge and communication skills to effectively guide customers. Your team should be able to understand and empathize with the customer’s state of mind during the decision-making process.
Transparency is another crucial fact. Your sales team should focus on providing the customer with all the necessary information they need to make an informed decision. Avoid any pressure tactics, as they can be counterproductive and harm your relationship with the customer.
Additionally, leverage the power of technology to provide more personal and relevant buying experiences. Solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can provide personalized product recommendations based on customer behavior and preferences. This connects to our next topic, the role of technology.
The Role of Technology in Guided Selling
Technology plays a pivotal role in the successful deployment of guided selling strategies. AI and machine learning can prove instrumental in analyzing a customer’s buying behavior, enabling the sales team to tailor the selling process accordingly.
Furthermore, AI can assist in segmenting customers based on their purchasing habits, interests, and buying stages. This segmentation can be a helpful tool in designing personalized buying experiences that resonate well with customers.
Digital touchpoints such as interactive product finders, recommender systems, and chatbots enhance the guided selling experience by providing customers with instant and personalized advice. Such tools help reduce the cognitive load for customers and ensure they can find the right product quickly and conveniently.
Implementing technology in your guided selling strategy, while maintaining a human touch, can go a long way in providing an all-around satisfactory customer experience. With guided selling, your business can achieve sales growth and customer loyalty.
Altogether, guided selling is a potent tool fit for modern businesses seeking to create profound, personalized shopping experiences. By combining insight, empathy, and the right technology, businesses can harness the power of guided selling to enhance relationships with customers and drive unprecedented sales growth.
Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this best new music segment.
On this week’s list, we have Taylor Swift’s soaring ‘Say Don’t Go’, the best vault track on 1989 (Taylor’s Version); serpentwithfeet’s ‘Damn Gloves,’ a sultry, throbbing dance track that features Ty Dolla $ign and South African vocalist Yanga YaYa; ‘Watercooler’, the delicate, ethereal lead single off Grandaddy’s first album in 6 six years; Yard Act’s dancey, tongue-in-cheek new single ‘Dream Job; Chelsea Wolfe’s sludgy, ominous ‘Whispers in the Echo Chamber’, the second preview of her forthcoming album; and ‘Forgot to Grow’, a captivating new single from London’s High Vis.
MJ Lenderman has announced a new live album, And the Wind (Live and Loose!), which arrives November 17 via ANTI-. The LP captures a pair of summer 2023 shows at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall and Los Angeles’ Lodge Room, featuring support from guitarist Jon Samuels, drummer Colin Miller, and fellow Wednesday bandmates Xandy Chelmis and Ethan Baechtold on pedal steel and bass, respectively. Below, check out a video for the performance of ‘You Have Bought Yourself a Boat’.
Earlier this year, Lenderman shared the tracks ‘Rudolph’ and ‘Knockin”. Live renditions of both singles appear on And the Wind (Live and Loose!).
And the Wind (Live and Loose!) Cover Artwork:
And the Wind (Live and Loose!) Tracklist:
1. Hangover Game
2. Knockin
3. You Have Bought Yourself a Boat
4. TLC Cagematch
5. Rudolph
6. Toontown
7. Dan Marino
8. Under Control
9. SUV
10. Catholic Priest
11. Gentleman’s Jack
12. Someone Get the Grill Out of the Rain
13. You Are Every Girl to Me
14. Tastes Just Like It Costs
15. Long Black Veil [feat. Styrofoam Winos]
Strange Ranger have announced they have broken up. “Pure Music will be the last Strange Ranger album,” the band wrote on social media. “Thank you so much for listening to the music and coming out to shows for all these years- it means the world. See u on the other side.”
Pure Music, Strange Ranger’s third LP, came out in July. It followed the group’s 2021 mixtape No Light in Heaven, 2019’s Remembering the Rockets, and 2017’s Daymoon. Read about Strange Ranger in our Artist Spotlight interview with the band.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is more than just a game – it’s a thriving digital ecosystem rich with vast collections of virtual items, notably skins. Among the myriad of available skins, the M4A4 | Red DDPAT stands out as a symbol of prestige and a collector’s gem. The journey towards acquiring this coveted skin is akin to an in-game adventure filled with strategy, negotiation, and sometimes, a dash of luck. This guide aims to navigate aspiring owners through the vibrant marketplace and the various channels leading to the prized possession of the M4A4 Red DDPAT.
Understanding the M4A4 | Red DDPAT:
The M4A4 | Red DDPAT is not just a skin; it’s a statement of style and a testament to a player’s standing within the CS:GO community. With its distinctive red digital disruptive pattern, the M4A4 | Red DDPAT is a blend of aesthetics and in-game respect. This skin’s rarity elevates its status, making it a sought-after asset in the CS:GO skin market.
The journey towards ownership begins with an appreciation of this skin’s uniqueness. Over the years, its value has seen a trajectory akin to fine art – appreciating with time, especially when maintained in pristine condition. Historical price trends reflect a strong demand, showcasing its enduring appeal among CS:GO enthusiasts.
Preparing for Acquisition
Before embarking on the quest for the M4A4 | Red DDPAT, it’s imperative to have your arsenal ready. Setting up a Steam account and a CS:GO profile are the foundational steps. Familiarizing oneself with the dynamics of the CS:GO skin market is crucial for making informed decisions. It’s a realm where prices fluctuate based on demand, rarity, and in-game events.
Allocating a budget is a prudent step as the path towards owning the M4A4 | Red DDPAT may encounter various price points based on the acquisition method chosen. Being financially prepared ensures a smoother journey and mitigates the risk of over-spending.
This preliminary phase sets the stage for the diverse routes leading to the acquisition of the M4A4 | Red DDPAT, each with its own set of adventures and challenges.
Acquisition Routes:
Acquiring the M4A4 | Red DDPAT is an expedition with multiple paths. Each route represents a unique blend of strategy, luck, and financial consideration. Here’s an overview of the different acquisition methods that potential owners can explore:
Direct Purchase:
Direct purchase is the straightforward path, albeit often the priciest. Various platforms host marketplaces for CS:GO skins, with Steam Market being the most reputable. Navigating through these platforms requires a keen eye for authenticity and a readiness to act as desired skins may not stay listed for long.
The price tag on the M4A4 | Red DDPAT can be a hefty one, but it’s a clear-cut method of acquisition. Authenticity verification is crucial to avoid falling prey to misrepresented listings. Secure platforms provide a level of assurance, making the direct purchase a favored route for those who prefer a hassle-free transaction.
Trading:
The world of CS:GO skin trading is as vibrant as it is intricate. Reputable trading platforms and communities are the playgrounds where negotiations take shape. It’s a realm where your bargaining skills and knowledge of the market value come to the fore.
The M4A4 | Red DDPAT could be just a trade away, but finding a fair trade requires patience and persistence. Engaging in fair value negotiations and ensuring both parties are satisfied with the deal is the essence of successful trading. This route is not only about acquiring the skin but also about the experience and relationships built along the way.
Skin Cases and Gambling:
Venturing into the realm of skin cases and gambling platforms presents a high-risk, high-reward scenario. The exhilaration of unboxing a rare skin like the M4A4 | Red DDPAT or winning it on a bet carries a charm of its own.
However, the risks are palpable, and the odds may not always favor the bold. This route requires a strong risk tolerance and a clear understanding of the legal and financial implications involved. The whirlwind of emotions accompanying this path makes it a thrilling yet precarious route to acquiring the M4A4 | Red DDPAT.
Safe Transactions:
The digital marketplace can be a wild west, where the cautious thrive and the careless may falter. Ensuring a safe transaction is paramount in the journey of acquiring the M4A4 | Red DDPAT.
Utilizing reputable platforms like the Steam Market ensures a level of security and transparency in transactions. The platform’s built-in mechanisms provide a safety net against fraudulent activities, giving peace of mind to buyers and sellers alike.
Avoiding scams is a critical aspect of safe transactions. Being wary of too-good-to-be-true deals, verifying authenticity, and adhering to platform guidelines are essential practices. Knowledge is the best defense against scams, and staying updated on common fraudulent schemes within the CS:GO community can save both money and disappointment.
Engaging in secure, transparent transactions not only safeguards your investment but also contributes to a trustworthy and robust CS:GO marketplace. It’s a step towards not only owning a coveted skin but fostering a safer trading environment for all.
Maintaining and Growing the Value of Your M4A4 | Red DDPAT:
The journey doesn’t end with acquisition; it evolves. Maintaining the condition and value of your M4A4 | Red DDPAT is a continuous endeavor that requires attention and care.
Keeping your skin in pristine condition can contribute to its value appreciation over time. The CS:GO community values well-maintained skins, and the M4A4 | Red DDPAT is no exception. Being knowledgeable about factors that could affect its value and staying active within the community can provide insights into preserving its worth.
Trading up or selling the M4A4 | Red DDPAT at the right time could yield a handsome profit. The CS:GO skin market is dynamic, and seizing opportunities as they arise can lead to a profitable exit. The M4A4 | Red DDPAT is not just a skin; it’s an asset with potential for value growth, making the journey of acquisition a rewarding experience that extends beyond the game.
Conclusion
The odyssey of acquiring the M4A4 | Red DDPAT in CS:GO is a compelling narrative that mirrors the broader allure of the game itself. It’s an intersection of strategy, financial investment, and a deep-seated passion for a virtual realm that continually blurs the lines between digital and tangible value. This guide has navigated through the preparatory steps, diverse acquisition routes, ensuring safe transactions, and strategies to maintain and potentially amplify the value of this prized skin.
As you embark on this expedition, equipped with insights and a better understanding of the marketplace dynamics, the M4A4 | Red DDPAT is not merely a destination but a journey that epitomizes the essence of the CS:GO community. Each transaction, negotiation, and strategy employed brings you closer to owning a piece of digital artistry that resonates with a global community of enthusiasts.
Trey Abdella will debut with the Vito Schnabel Gallery in New York City on the 9th of November, opening his latest exhibition Under the Skin.
In Under the Skin, Abdella explores American culture through an anatomical lens by examining anxieties buried beneath the skin. With his narratives filled with psychological presence, he weaves feelings of sweetness and seduction of nostalgia into his narratives with dark, disruptive impulses that charge them with psychological presence by exploring the skin and layers of the earth as membranes, boundaries, or mediums of passage between physical and psychological realms.
The exhibition will run from the 9th of November, 2023, until the 13th of January, 2024.
As noted within its title page, Pay As You Go is technically a ‘fable.’ As opposed to a novel, a fable implies a wild journey, a hero to root for, and deeply memorable characters. Eskor David Johnson’s debut novel has it all and then some.
We meet his protagonist, Slide, complaining about his apartment in the city of Polis, only for his speech to be interrupted by his roommate, who says that he’s only lived there a week. And so begins Slide’s quest to find a new apartment, dealing with landlords, real estate agents, all in search for in-unit laundry. The novel is grounded until a biblical-level flood wipes everything out, causing him to start anew at a mountain at the highest peak in Polis, where he integrates himself within a group of gangsters and earns his keep while cutting hair. Once the flood resides, he sets up a proper shop in one of Polis’ neighborhoods, but he soon finds out he has more debt than he previously thought. After he rants that people aren’t paying attention to a sword-swallower, instead cheering on an inept comic, he goes viral and everything he wanted before is seemingly in his reach. Wildly imaginative, exuberant and hilarious in all the ways that count, Pay As You Go is a surreal tale that announces David Johnson as a supremely talented new writer.
Our Culture sat down with Eskor David Johnson to talk about form, planning, and different cities’ influences on the novel.
Congratulations on your amazing debut novel! How does it feel for it to be out?
Exciting, obviously. I started to get an early dose of the excitement because all the pre-orders shipped, so it wasn’t as I imagined it beforehand, whereby only tomorrow would people even be able to see it. Friends are starting to read it, so that deflates the climactic excitement, but it’s allowed it to have a longer lifespan. So, a tradeoff, I think.
I have so many questions about form to ask, since this is such a rich and vibrant novel. First, since it revolves around Slide’s continuous journey, where did the first sparks of the idea come to you?
It follows the arc of the hero’s journey, so that archetypal story form has various touchstones or checkpoints the plot is supposed to have. It loosely follows that. But as to where the idea came from, it was an unusual turn of events — the title came first, many many years ago. I think I just liked it as a phrase, ‘pay as you go,’ this notion of a perpetual motion machine, something that continued to move forward because it was already moving. It was only getting enough fuel to make it to the next step. I wanted a character to embody that, and I began to hear someone who very incessantly needed something. It was in a period of my life where I began to need something as well, I was fresh out of college. It took me a failed draft, it took me a year and a half of a much worse version of Slide. It’s only when trying to rework that previous version that I landed on this novel’s first sentence: “My first apartment in Polis, it was shit, complete shit.” And that, to bring it full circle, allowed everything to finally crystallize. I was able to hear the voice clearer than I’d ever felt, it also felt as if that momentum to move forward was embedded in that first phrase. I was able to follow that voice a lot more clearly and easily.
I love that answer — I’m someone who also writes from the first sentence, and everything else usually follows.
I think that’s all you need! [Gabriel García] Máquez speaks about that a lot. He’s like, if you get that ingredient right, it’s all you need, and if you get it wrong, there’s no amount of writing down the line that will fix things. If I don’t feel that, from, ideally, the first sentence, it’s not even something I think is worth pursuing.
I can’t even imagine how long this must have taken you. Every turning point in his story is so rife with energy, complex characters, and it’s immersive to the highest degree. I mean, you have a map! What was it like enveloping yourself within the city of Polis and developing these storylines?
It was really really fun. Yeah, it was a lot of work, something like five years, depending on when you want to start counting from. One of the hardest things I’ve done, but very fun. I started it when I was in Iowa, but the bulk of it was written in New York. For me, it became the inverted world of my life in New York — it’s one thing to be living there day-to-day, living with the struggle of finding rent, seeing your friends, putting up with traffic. To be able to endure that, but every morning, be able to return to this quiet, controlled space, my studio at the time, where I was able to turn off the noise of New York and wake up as early as possible, 5:30, ideally. I like that it felt as if for all of the energy and mania that I knew was beyond those walls, I was able to curtail it all and retreat into what was physically a very private, quiet world where I’d draw my curtains and everything. But within the pages themselves is an even wilder version of New York, or at least one that I’d hoped to be. It felt as if I needed this other world that I was able to retreat to on mornings, both for the sake of the story and also as a talisman for me to be able to endure New York. If you’re here without some kind of drive, something where it feels like you’re moving forward, it can be very overwhelming and all over the place. It was my sanctuary, in that sense.
That goes right into my next question — even though Pay As You Go is a surreal satire, it really does read like a love letter to cities everywhere and all the nooks and crannies that make each one unique. It seems like New York was the basis, but did any other areas influence the novel as well?
I’ve been in and out of New York over the years — my dad was a professor here. I’ve had a bit of exposure: in the first few months outside of college I was here, during COVID I left for a bit then came back. All that to say, there’s something attractive and repellent about such an overwhelming place. I’ve often felt the need to leave and take breaks. But as soon as you leave, you feel as if you’re about to miss out on everything that’s happening. It really does feel like you’re closer to the center of the world. It’s a bit of an illusion, but it’s a very attractive illusion.
New York is for sure the main ingredient, but there’s some Chicago in there. When I lived in Iowa, I had friends in Chicago and I remember one weekend I spent walking around downtown with a painter friend. And there’s been Portugal, where I spent four months out of college. Though it may not look or seem or feel like it, there’s also a bit of Port of Spain, which is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. That’s not so much in the architecture of the place, but the frenetic sense of happening, talking, chatter, crowds, gossips, eavesdroppers within the population itself. For me, that has a very large Trinidadian dose in it.
Let’s talk about your writing process. Because this story is so imaginative, I wanted to ask if you were a writer that comes up with everything on the spot, letting the words flow, or if you’re a big planner.
No plan! I can’t plan. In my life I can, I hope, but when it comes to writing, I actually find plans are detrimental for me. I need to not know what’s going to happen so that the moment the characters, the scenes, can unfold in any way that seems true to themselves. I think if you have a character enter a room and you determine beforehand what needs to happen before he or she leaves that room, it can have a constraining or forced feel to the unfolding of those events. I know writers for whom that is not true, but for me, it is. My general approach is to get people in trouble and find a way for them to get out of it, but for them to not know what that is. Instead of it becoming my problem, I like to make it my character’s problem. Therefore, if you really sit with them in that moment, you’re better able to draw on the resources of the world present around to make it real.
So even these huge world events, like the flood, where he has to change neighborhoods, that was all off the cuff?
Yeah, I think with the flood, I wanted to wash everything clean. The flood marks a real turning point in the novel. Ostensibly, when you tell people what it’s about, ‘Just a guy finding somewhere to live,’ it’s very straightforward in that way. He’s viewing apartments, has a real estate agent, but after the flood, things begin to get stranger. I knew I needed some kind of means of allowing the novel to head to that next tier. A large event would rearrange things, and what better than a flood? So it came out of a practical desire to push things further.
Slide is the ultimate example of going with the flow. He leaves his awful apartment to work for a room in a hostel-type building, survives the flood and camps out with intimidating men on the top of the city’s mountain, sets up a barber’s shop, and all seemingly has a good attitude about it. Why do you think he keeps going, to this unknown endpoint?
Great question. Speaking again of the failed draft: I had this earlier version of Slide whom you wouldn’t have wanted to spend much time with. He was older, or at least felt older, and was supposed to be wiser. It made him a little bit insufferable. With this version of Slide, I did two things: I made him stupider, but I made him braver. I think the combination of things made him a ‘yes and’ type. He’s not a ‘no, but.’ It allowed that for any situation that unfolded, all I had to do was have Slide crash head-first into it, and see what unfolded. And again, I think it goes back to the first line. It speaks to someone who will quickly get enthusiastic about things and who will quickly change his mind. He’s also going to say yes to a lot of things, and will go out of his way to see what those things are. In some sense, it’s not so much a question of why that was a feature, rather, it couldn’t have happened if not for that intrinsic ingredient.
Slide gains some notoriety after a rant about finances and capitalism he goes on while he’s on a date — he’s then scooped by agents and offered a wide range of luxury promises, like a memoir, ads, and a TV show about his life. But he still feels something is off — there’s a great line that says “The world had become my oyster but I’d lost my appetite.” When everything is right in front of him, why do you still think Slide is apprehensive?
To Slide’s credit, I think even though more often than not he articulates what he is trying to find — ‘I want Scandinavian furniture, a nice coffee table’ — he does it in these material aims. Unbeknownst to him, until those goals are laid out in front of him, there is something more fundamental and spiritually fulfilling he does want. I’m thinking, for example, when Osmond the real estate agent is asking him what he wants in an apartment. As best as he can manage, he says, ‘I want somewhere that I can offer a cup of coffee for my friends who come over. My friend who owns a cat, I want to be able to give it a saucer of milk.’ What that speaks to is that, he’s not saying to him, ‘A one bedroom, laundry in-unit, etc.’ That’s the obvious physical manifestation. What he really wants is a home. He wants somewhere to care for others and be welcoming and be welcomed himself. I don’t think Slide has the language to say it in that way, but what he does have is this sense of persisting, dissatisfaction, even in the face of overabundance of material objects, which is ostensibly what he was trying to find.
The book is formatted as a speech to Jim and Jean, two TV pundits that we see somewhat infrequently, but to whom Slide spills his life in Polis to. Talk a little bit about this decision and how it influenced the writing process.
Yeah, going back to causing myself problems I don’t know how to solve. It’s one of things that, at the end of it, feels as if it’s plotted in advance. But at the end of the first part, he’s leaving the apartment, saying goodbye to everyone on the train, he heads and enters the subway. Because it was such a force of momentum in that scene, I got quite foolish and I wanted to take it up one more notch. I decided on this line, ‘And that, the two of you, is how I got started in this mess in the first place.’ I didn’t know who these two people were and how we’d end up to them. But it was a problem I made for myself, a problem I made for the character, but my hope was that it’d allow for some kind of urgency. There had to be more of a reason this story was being told, other than having fun. That undefinable promise rose spontaneously, and then I had to spend a number of years trying to fulfill it in some way.
Finally, what’s next for you? Do you have any other ideas for a future fiction project?
Right now, I can’t say anything for certain — I have some ideas I have a few pages on, but I’m quite fortunate in that there’s a lot of energy and excitement around Pay As You Go, I have too much on my mind now to find that quiet, concentrated space. When things settle is when I’m hoping to return to exploring. I’d like to do some non-fiction for a bit, because even though I love fiction the most, the novel was very much creating my own world. And I have thoughts about the real one as well, which I’d like to articulate if even for my own self.
Renowned for his adventurous photography that offers a fresh perspective on our world, Kourosh Keynejad is a British-born photographer based in LA, California. One of his notable series is The Black Lake Series, captured in the Austrian Alps near Tyrol. These captivating shots were taken at sunrise over Schwarzsee, which translates to ‘black lake.’ Morning activities abound around the lake, creating fantastic subjects against its abyss-like backdrop.
