Z AND MATTY TAKE TELEGRAPH
Ari Rosenschein
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GENRE: Young Adult
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BLURB:
It’s the late ’90s—the final days before smartphones and the internet changed the teenage landscape forever. Zack and his mother have moved from Tempe to Berkeley for a fresh start, leaving behind Zack’s father after a painful divorce. A natural athlete, Zack makes the water polo team which equals social acceptance at his new school. Yet he’s more drawn to Matthias, a rebellious skater on the fringes, who introduces him to punk rock, record stores, and the legendary Telegraph Avenue.
As their friendship intensifies, Matthias’s behavior reminds Zack of his absent dad, driving a wedge between him and his mother. Complicating matters is Zaylee, a senior who boosts Zack’s confidence but makes him question his new buddy, Matthias. Faced with all these changes, Zack learns that when life gets messy, he might have to become his own best friend.
Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph is about how a friendship can challenge who we are, how we fit in, and where we’re going.
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Excerpt One:
My eyes catch the main event: Matthias, shirtless again, owning every inch of the bowl. No matter how little I know about skateboarding mechanics, it’s obvious the dude’s form is immaculate. I stand transfixed as he slides smoothly down one side of the bowl and up the other, like a weight on a pendulum, his head peering back over his shoulder, carefree. After gaining momentum, he hoists his lithe body over the top and holds perfectly still, one hand on his board, the other gripping the lip of the bowl. It’s dazzling.
As soon as he breaks the pose, a small crowd erupts. “Sick handplant, Matthias,” yells a kid in a yellow Carhart jacket.
Everything looks straight out of a movie. Skaters in shirts with blocky logos give each other high fives. Younger kids sit on the sidelines, boards glued to their hands, watching the action but not ready to dive in.
When we read On the Road during freshman year, Dad taught me a term that stuck with me: subculture. I’ve got no desire to ride a skateboard. But this vibe? I want to be a part of it. I’m swept up on a wave of California freedom.
Danny shoves an elbow into my belly. “Matthias is a monster skater, right?”
“Never seen skating like that,” I say. “Except on TV or in a movie.”
“Exactly.”
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Interview:
Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself!
My name is Ari Rosenschein. I’m a writer and musician who grew up in the Bay Area and who now lives in Seattle. My first collection of short stories is called Coasting, and it came out in 2018. I recently republished it with new cover art and edits. My latest book is the young adult novel Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph.
I’ve been playing in bands since I was fifteen and currently create music in a few different projects. The Royal Oui is a duo I’ve been a part of since 2013 with my wife, Adrienne Pierce. We put out melodic, harmony-laden music with many different influences, from folk to new wave. STAHV is a solo effort where I play all the instruments; the sound is on the darker end of the spectrum and draws on psychedelic and goth sounds. I also play bass in Colony Drop, a sci-fi thrash act.
Tell us about your book? How did it get started?
Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph is a YA book centered around a character named Zack who moves from Tempe to Berkeley with his mother. In California, he falls in with a rebellious skater named Matthias, who guides him on a journey into counterculture. I began writing the book during NaNoWriMo in November 2020 and continued to refine and work on the manuscript over the following years. In March of 2023, I began to send the book to publishers and was lucky enough to get the interest of Fire and Ice YA, a division of Melange Publishing. I signed my paperwork and began the process of bringing the book to market, and now it’s coming out on May 7th.
How do you create your characters?
My characters emerge from every aspect of my life. Often, they initially combine traits of numerous people I’ve known, yet when I embark on the writing, they begin to take on their own lives. In some ways, I get to know my characters better after I finish a book and can reflect on their journey and see their arc. I love it when my characters surprise me and behave unexpectedly; those are fun moments as an author, but I can’t force them. I simply must create the circumstances for such events to occur.
What inspires and what got you started in writing?
I’m inspired by beautiful sentences and considered language. I love everything from literary fiction by Michael Cunningman to comics like Saga and all points in between. I loved to write stories and create my own little comics when I was young. Then, as I focused more on music, songs became my primary outlet. Eventually, in my forties, I decided to dive into writing seriously and have never looked back. I started with music journalism, branched into essays and creative nonfiction, and returned to school for my MFA. Since I started writing, reworking, and publishing, I’ve never looked back. The writing life is for. It’s challenging but rewarding.
Where do you write? Is there something you need in order to write (music, drinks?)
I write best at home, in bed, on planes, and in hotel rooms. I need quiet, coffee, and patience. Music is a helpful tool for editing and pushing through when I want to reach a specific word count. But, most of the heavy lifting happens in the silent spots between thoughts when I can let the truth make itself known.
How do you get your ideas for writing?
Everything inspires me. I get ideas from television shows, art museums, movies, and the little dramas I witness on the street or in nature. It’s all fodder for my mind, which mixes these concepts up and spits them back in shapes that rarely resemble the initial spark. My past is also a perpetual source of material—small details of an event from my life can often lead to a much larger story that has nothing to do with me.
What do you like to read?
I’m a literary omnivore. My interests range from linked short story collections to edgy graphic novels, oral histories, and poetry. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with reading more than a few books at a time. I used to feel like I needed to give a single book my undivided attention until I’d completed it. Now, I enjoy jumping back and forth between texts with no guilt whatsoever. And I’m reading way more books.
What would your advice to be for authors or aspiring in regards to writing?
I still consider myself so new to the writing game that I hardly feel qualified to give advice. Still, if pressed, the most important thing is to find a method that works for you. Outline a story if it feels good, or go entirely freestyle and see where it takes you. Short stories and flash fiction are beautiful places to begin and get a few wins. Starting small allowed me to examine who I was as a writer, pick the best bits, and do more of that with intention.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Ari Rosenschein is a Seattle-based author who grew up in the Bay Area. Books and records were a source of childhood solace, leading Ari to a teaching career and decades of writing, recording, and performing music. Along the way, he earned a Grammy shortlist spot, landed film and TV placements, and co-wrote the 2006 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Song of the Year.
In his writing, Ari combines these twin passions. Coasting, his debut short story collection, was praised by Newfound Journal as “introducing us to new West Coast archetypes who follow the tradition of California Dreaming into the 21st century.” Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph (Fire & Ice YA) is his first young adult novel.
Website: https://arirosenschein.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arirosenschein
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arirosenschein/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@arirosenschein
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYQKNBKQ
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Ari Rosenschein will be awarding a signed paperback copy of Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter.
3 comments
We appreciate you hosting this book today. Thank you.
It was a pleasure answering these questions!
This sounds like a great story.