Justin Myers is a journalist who for a long time wrote under his pseudonym The Guyliner. I first started reading his hilarious writing back in 2012 when his blog posts started getting published on the Huffington Post. He has written for Gay Times, GQ and the Guardian. His first novel, The Last Romeo, was published by Little, Brown in Spring this year.
We talk about writing non fiction and how his fiction has some similarities to his journalistic career.
His book The Last Romeo tells a story of the character James - his long relationship with Adam ends, decides to try out the dating scene for the first time, writing about his exploits for a small, loyal audience under a secret identity: the Last Romeo. An account of a date with a closeted celebrity boosts the blog’s popularity, not to mention its notoriety, and soon James finds himself reluctantly internet-famous, and dealing with the associated perks and pitfalls; the fans, trolls, and haters, who all want to know one thing: who the hell is Romeo?
We talk about what it's like coming out as your real self from behind an anonymous blog and how to use your experiences for a novel. We also talk about age and I like this quote from Justin: "There is no new rule that once you hit 35 or 40, you are suddenly no longer interested in new things around you or new stuff."
#226 Scarlett Curtis: It's OK To Feel Blue
#225 Leandra Medine Cohen: Love, Life & Turning 30
#224 Helen Whitaker: How To Find The Time To Write When You're Busy AF
#223 Marie Forleo: Figuring Stuff Out & Dealing With Trolls
#222 Jess Phillips MP: Truth To Power
#221 Susan Wokoma: Life On and Off Stage
#220 JP Watson: The Art of Crowdfunding A Book
#219 Emma Barnett: The Politics of Periods
#218 Lotte Jeffs: The Art of Soft Power In A Harsh World
#217 Alain de Botton: Life As A Process
#216 Rhik Samadder: Life Writing & Truth Telling
#215 Chelsea Kwakye: On Taking Up Space
#214 Sofie Hagen: Comedy + Boundaries
#213 Leah Hazard: Burnout In The NHS
#212 Lauren Mahon: The Story Of Girl Vs Cancer
#211 Otegha Uwagba & Polly MacKenzie on Self-Employment, Managing Your Money & Mental Health (Recorded LIVE with NatWest)
#210 Liz Ward: Do You Want To PIVOT?
#209 Jehane Noujaim: On Her Netflix Exposé of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
#208 From The Archives! Lucy Sheridan: On Social Media Comparison
#207 From The Archives! Will Young: On Setting Boundaries
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Happy Place
Soundtracking with Edith Bowman
Hoovering with Jessica Fostekew
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Gulliver’s Travels
The Big Interview with Graham Hunter
Who Hurt You?