The guest was John Nelson, author of Where Excuses Go to Die. John was dubbed the “Bookstore Bandit” by the Los Angeles Police Department back in 1990. After innumerable bookstore robberies, Nelson decided to up the ante and started robbing banks. It was his fifth bank that would be his downfall – or was it the one that saved him. However you may want to look at it, the fifth bank was the one where he finally got caught.
Nelson spent four years in prison for his little crime spree, but they were not wasted years. On the contrary, he made very good use of that time. It was in prison that Nelson began writing – and he never stopped. After his release from prison, he started accumulating a diverse list of credits that include developing promotional material for bands, music promoters, record labels, indie film companies, print and online magazine work, and he was even hired by Mattel to help write what ‘pull-string dolls’ would say.

What was Nelson’s inspiration for Where Excuses Go to Die? This book is “my account of growth: absurd, hilarious, and occasionally sad. Think of it as my letter to you, written to defy everything you know about life behind bars.”

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