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G. Neri, author of Surf Mules, our guest blogger for the week of May 25

Fri, 05/22/2009

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G. Neri is our guest blogger during the week of May 25th. If you have any questions for G. Neri, add a comment to any of his posts.

Here is more information on Surf Mules:

When Logan goes searching for the Perfect Monster Wave, he doesn't expect his former best friend to be killed by it. Add to this a deadbeat dad who bankrupted his family and the possibility of college going down the drain, and Logan is suddenly in a tailspin.

So when small-time dealer Broza offers Logan and his dropout pal, Z-boy, a summer job that could make them rich, it seems his problems might be solved. But between Z-boy's constant screwups, a band of Nazi surfers out for blood, and a mysterious stranger on their tail, Logan is starting to have some serious doubts about hauling contraband across country, and hopes just to make it home alive.

About G. Neri:

G. Neri writes street lit, "provocative, edgy stories for reluctant readers," he says, "especially urban boys, in hopes that these kinds of compelling tales will open minds to reading." Neri's books deal with subjects that may make some adults uncomfortable - gangs, drugs, teen violence, and sex - but are issues teens face every day. "I try to show these topics honestly," says Neri. "So when young people encounter these situations in real life, they might have some knowledge to help them navigate the rough roads ahead. Teens are young adults and need to be treated as such, with honesty and directness."

A storyteller, filmmaker, artist, and digital media producer, Neri's taught animation and storytelling to inner city teens in Los Angeles with the ground-breaking group Animaction, which has produced thousands of student-made films dealing with issues like teen violence, gangs, and drugs. He co-directed the documentary Fa'a Samoa which followed a 15-year-old Samoan gangbanger through the mean streets of Los Angeles and was head of production in two successful new media companies whose clients ranged from Disney, Mercedes, and Motorola to Microsoft, Reebok, and General Motors. G. Neri was also one of the founding members of the Truth teen anti-smoking campaign. The author of Surf Mules (Putnam, June 2009), Chess Rumble and the upcoming graphic novel Yummy (due out Fall 2009) currently lives off the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife and daughter. He spends most of his time in his studio, but also likes to troll the rivers by his house looking for alligators.

Surf Mules
G. Neri - Author