About the Author
Scott Morrison has been writing short stories and songs for many years. The Energy Caper is his first novel. His short story about the luck of the draw in Nixon's lottery during the Vietnam war, "Draft Night," appears in the new anthology Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace edited by Maxine Hong Kingston and published by Koa Books. You can hear the story read by the author by clicking below.
"Draft Night "
The Author's Day Job
While trying to learn a new chord one day in 1979 he had a brainstorm for a poster that put everything you needed to know about the guitar up on your wall. So instead of finally going to law school, he decided to try to get rich quick and founded a company to publish The Guitar Poster. He figured to give it a couple of years, then retire to write the great American novel on a yacht anchored off Acapulco or the Riviera. He never did get rich, but over the decades he produced a series of music posters which helped millions learn to play, and the world was spared another lawyer. Nearly thirty years later, he has finished the novel.
The Guitar Poster™
See all the posters at castaliapub.com
Editing & Publishing
He recently edited and published a textbook for graduate students in psychology, Drugs and Clients, What Every Psychotherapist Needs to Know.
Songwriting
He also writes songs for the imaginary band, Scotty & the Skeptics. In the coming months he will be putting his tunes up on the "songs" page to pitch to musicians, agents, managers, producers, music publishers, and any musical artist looking for interesting material to record.
Poster and flyer for
The Energy Caper
Chapter Podcasts
mp3 format
Chapter 1
"V's for Victory "
Chapter 2
"The Real World "
Chapter 3
"Can-Can au Go-Go"
YouTube Episode 1
"The Prophylactic Song"
Scotty & The Skeptics™
Song Demos
"Zoloft, It's Been
Good to Know Ya''"
Other Scotty & The Skeptics tunes not yet integrated into this page can be found at www.skeptico.com
The Energy Caper
The Ballad of Sarah Palin
It's election season and I'm kicking of the campaign to let the world know about my novel with a brand new tune!
About the Novel
The Energy Caper is a merry romp with a band of idealistic twenty-somethings and two of everybody's favorite characters from the Sixties, President Richard Milhous Nixon, and the guru of the counter-culture, Dr. Timothy Leary. Nixon is the same paranoid, profane, venal S-O-B that made him such a hit in our universe, but on Earth One he is unleashed into a luckier world where the Vietnam War ended before it began, the Kennedys and Martin Luther King were not assassinated, and Watergate was just a fancy hotel. Leary, whom Nixon calls "The most dangerous man in the world" for inciting the booming "war baby" generation to "Turn on, tune in, drop out," is on the run after a daring escape from prison.
In Earth One's 1972 election Nixon defeated the sitting President, Bobby Kennedy, by vowing to bring Timothy Leary to justice and to wage an unrelenting "war on drugs." Now, two years later, Nixon finds himself in a different kind of war thanks to the "oil shock" brought on by the Arab oil embargo after the Arab-Israeli war. Nixon's approval rating plummets as millions of furious voters, stuck in hours-long lines hoping to buy gasoline at any price, demand he do something—anything! America is in a war—an energy war. He would prefer to kick commie ass in Vietnam, or send in the Marines to blow Castro out of the water, but it seems energy will be the signature issue of his presidency. In his search for answers, Nixon is shocked to learn that the plant he so loved to demonize in his war-on-drugs campaign that won him the presidency could free America from the clutches of the oil cartel. It's as if a secret weapon has been dropped into his lap, and only a hard-core, law-and-order bastard like himself could ever hope to sell it to America's conservatives in the name of national security. If he can lead America to energy independence, he'll deserve the final spot on Mount Rushmore.
The Energy Caper will appeal to liberals and progressives of all generations, and its spunky characters will touch the hearts of tens of millions of boomers pissed off at how the hopes, dreams, and ideals of their youth have turned to ashes. It's a tale of a better world that might have been—and could yet be.
Some Cool Blurbs
"It is deliciously funny, ingeniously imaginative...a pleasure to read. It reminds me of Vonnegut and Joseph Heller and other writers who have an antic, comic way of making people think about serious matters. ...bold, unabashed style, direct and strong--we need more of that!"
Howard Zinn, Ph.D., author of A People's History of America.
"Morrison has produced a rollicking, picaresque yarn, featuring Richard Nixon, Timothy Leary and assorted rogues and rascals, real and fictional, from the Sixties, as well as generous dollops of sex, drugs and rock n' roll...an alternative world that might have been, If instead of a "war on drugs", we used the noble hemp plant to win our energy-independence and regenerate the American economy. Makes you laugh at the imagined real possibilities while you weep at the missed real opportunities. A truly enjoyable read!"
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author of many books and co-author (with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert) of The Psychedelic Experience
"With wit, humor, and great imagination, Morrison creates an alternative history. Culture clashes, conservative versus liberal, and energy issues make this a most timely novel. Morrison's characters, whether they are historical or created, are comical and convincing."
James Janko, author of Buffalo Boy and Geronimo
"In writing a whimsical DaVinci Code for hempsters Morrison unravels the hemp conspiracy with terrific style and imagination. The Energy Caper is a fun read even if you know nothing about hemp and just like a well-told story."
Jeff Meyers, producer, The Emperor of Hemp
"The depiction of Nixon's historical histrionics is hilarious!"
John Dvorak, founder of hempology.org
Pre-publication galleys of The Energy Caper, or Nixon in the Sky with Diamonds, are available for qualified reviewers.
COMING SOON!
The Energy Caper, or Nixon in the Sky with Diamonds
A tale of what might have been, and still could be.
by William Scott Morrison
416 pages, Hardcover, $25.95
From Castalia Communications
ISBN 978-0-929150-25-3
www.energycaper.com
Below is the Library of Congress CIP data:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morrison, William Scott.
The Energy Caper, or, Nixon in the sky with diamonds / William Scott Morrison.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-929150-25-3
1. Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994--Fiction. 2.
Leary, Timothy Francis, 1920---Fiction. 3. Energy
development--Fiction. 4. Drug control--Fiction. 5.
Marijuana--Fiction. I. Title. II. Title: Energy caper. III. Title:
Nixon in the sky with diamonds.
PS3613.O7779E54 2007
813'.6--dc22
2006012473