During Hurricane Sandy, I wrote The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself. There was no electricity and I used a generator to power my computer.

I wrote this book for the love of my life.

We’re a little afraid to ask what she might have done to herself.
No one physically commits suicide in the book. The book is not a how-to guide, nor does it promote suicide. The title is based on saying the main character would use in reference to falling in love and doing what you love regardless of what people think.

That’s a relief. Tell us more.
The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself pulls you into the early 90’s New York City rave scene, in all its chaotic, psychedelic glory. I take you by your wrist and drag you behind two teenage lovers from New Jersey as they tumble through a whirlwind of reckless hedonism that eventually spirals into a dark, devastating world of drug addiction and heartbreak. As teenagers, I used to write poems and stories for the girls I liked. Lynn would get upset and say, “Why doesn’t anyone write anything for? Am I not good enough? No one would ever write something for me.”

Well, I wrote a book for the girl who thought no one would ever write anything for her.

The book takes place from 1992 to 2012. It is filled with hard drugs, kinky sex, and an endless amount of music references.

It sounds like a memoir, so how come it’s listed as fiction?
It’s labeled as fiction for some legal reasons. It’s fiction… yeah, sure.

So what kind of… fiction is it?
It does not fit into just one genre. It is a love story, but not a romance novel. It is a memoir, but it also is not. It is a tribute to the love of my life, but it tells my tale as well. I think it is a very unique book. I do not know of any other book like it.

If you like unconventional romances with honest kinky sex and hard drugs, you’ll love this book.

We think we need to know more about Lynn.
She is very intelligent, but very insecure. She is completely in love with me, Nicholas Tanek. She is also extremely emotional to the point where it is dangerous. Throughout most of her life, she plays a very submissive role in relationships. She always feels lucky that she has men who like her because she feels no one will ever truly love her or do anything grand for her. This is one of several reasons she ends up becoming an addict, a criminal, and a victim in a very abusive marriage.

Oh my God.
Tell us more. Where do you come in?
At the start of the book, I am very cocky and arrogant. Through honesty and love, I evolve and change into a “good person”. Although I was honest with Lynn about my feelings for other women, I still end up breaking her heart early on in the book. I spiral into drug addiction and crime. Even if my life was going in a positive and sober direction, I always felt emptiness and yearned for the connection of a true kinky relationship.

Together, Lynn and I reunite and become enlightened through sexual expression and a bond formed by an honest romance and sexuality. We put the “bond” in bondage.

It’s definitely aimed at a grown-up audience, isn’t it?
The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself is a book that will appeal to people who have an open mind and are interested in love, sex, drugs, addiction, music, the 90’s NYC rave scene, the 90’s punk rock scene, the fetish community, the BDSM community; people interested in Femdom, recovering drug addicts, people who cared for sick people, people who are interested in New York and New Jersey, and even people with a sharp or weird sense of humor.

There is not one type of person. Anyone who truly has love and passion in their heart will appreciate The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself.

The 90’s are long gone; tell us about your life now.
I am an author in my late 30’s. I have been a ghostwriter, a teacher, a corporate zombie, and a journalist. I love to write. I also love film and music. I need to be around creative people and I have a need to be creative.

Where can we find you online?
http://thecoolestway.com
http://facebook.com/thecoolestway
@NicholasTanek.

What’s next for you?
The woman who did the cover and edited my book is working on her book titled Tell Me Everything. That is coming out next. I am helping her just like she helped me. Then, I am publishing the prequel to The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself.

A prequel?
It is follows me during the summer of 1989 and the New Jersey punk rock/hardcore scene. It is also a love story about the very first love in my life. She was a very wild and emotional punk rock girl from Jersey.