Reviews & Comments

"Paul is to the short story what Lenny Bruce or perhaps  Richard Pryor is to comedy. There's that honesty and mischievous sense of play and surprise in his work. He'll shock you and then twist 180 before you realize your presumptions are way off the mark. Devilish, raw, hilarious and one hell of a great storyteller."

... Al Carmichael

"I laughed ... I cried ... and laughed some more. Then, I got up and made sure the doors and windows were locked. I mean, this guy [Paul] LIVES around here, right?"

... M.L.Bruni

"Reading "Required Restroom Readings" was like waking up and finding out my daughter's picture was in Playboy ..."

... Paul Pedersen, III

"Smörgåsbord.  That's the word which comes to mind when I read this delightfully delectable compendium.  Each story, poem, musing is a delicious adventure, like popping some strange and exotic looking morsel into your mouth and being surprised as the flavors explode and transform on your tongue, transforming itself in unexpected ways.

About halfway through the book, I pondered over what a great liar Paul must be.  Only a great liar could permeate a tale with so much truth that you swear it must actually have happened, even though in your mind, you know it couldn't possibly be true.  Or was the real lie him telling me that it is all fiction, when it was actually him just relating the truth to me as he witnessed it?  I don't know and it doesn't matter.

This is a book I could carry with me everywhere, just to read a quick passage in a brief moment of a busy day, and feeling completely entertained and emotionally involved in every abbreviated chronicle."
              ... Josiah Blount -- Stone Gold Records

"Disturbing, thought provoking, phobia-inducing and, ultimately; cryptic."

... Michael Healey

"Reads like a myth...an American myth, somewhere between Robert Johnson and Orpheus by way of Stephen King as conceived by Tom Waits. Very cool."

... Mark Kaufman

"It's real and soulful and pulls you into its dark dimensions to face things you don't usually think about. It's art. Thanks, man."

... Bobby Jones

BACKWORD
by Raleigh Squires

Since there is a foreword in this book, it seemed apropos for it to have a “backword.”

Since part of my compensation for this editing job is my very own page, and since I’ve been trying to ride on this guy’s coattails ever since I first came in contact with him, I thought, “Why not take his back cover?”  However, rather than fill it with shameless self-promotion, I felt that the right thing to do in this space would be to dedicate it to the author, for his story is as interesting and entertaining as the stories he tells.

I’ve always heard there is a fine line between genius and crazy and there are probably many people out there who would claim that Paul certainly straddles that line.

But I assure you, Paul Evans Pedersen, Jr., is a “Genius” with a capital G.

I became convinced of that when I first heard Paul’s songs and heard him sing ‘em.  Having been in the Nashville music business for more than 30 years and having heard hundreds of singer/songwriters and thousands of songs in my time, I believe in my heart he’s one of the best I’ve ever heard.  It was blatantly obvious that this guy really had an extraordinarily unique talent for telling stories.

But when he started sending these poems and vignettes to me, I was absolutely blown away.  It was concrete confirmation that I was right in my assessment and it was then that I truly realized what an honor and privilege it is to be associated with such a talented man.

Paul’s own story is astonishing in its own right.  A self-taught multi-instrument Jersey kid musician at 13, who, as a tenth-grader, hitch-hiked from Jersey to Los Angeles and back.  And as an adult, homeless and unemployed firefighter, he literally “hoboed” his way from a divorce in Houston back to Jersey, living in train cars, cardboard boxes and under bridges and eating out of dumpsters at truckstops. 

A husband, a father and a grandfather.  A successful songwriter, performer and recording artist.  And now a successful author, Paul Evans Pedersen, Jr., is surely a survivor and the truth in his songs, poems, and stories and his own life story truly reflect who he is and where he’s been.