Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: We’re delighted to have Jeffrey Vernon Matucha here to tell us about the punk scene—starting with the music and going from there! Your latest book stars two punk musicians who meet an unexpected visitor. Can you tell us about it?

Jeffrey: Trieste is the story of power punk couple Miranda and Preston, and how the appearance of a pixie punk upends their world, as their bygone fast lane living days rise up to confront them about past sins. It’s a tale, not just about the punk scene, but also the culture of the working class.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Jeffrey: This work is based on a true story, something that happened to a friend of mine. When you live a wild club and music life, especially when it’s rife with drugs and booze and lots of fooling around, the past can come back to haunt you, especially in unexpected ways. I would say more, but I don’t want to give away too much before people have a chance to experience the story.

Zilla: What would it be like to meet your characters?

Jeffrey: In a way I have met them. Not them literally, but Preston and Miranda are based on the many punks, musicians, and wild burnouts I’ve known over the years. Miranda is loosely based on my late friend Marian Anderson, the singer of The Insaints. Marian has been the inspiration for many of my hardcore characters throughout my writing career.

Zilla: Who is your favourite fictional character someone else wrote? 

Jeffrey: Dre from Dani Dassler’s PR is my favorite character from the genre of punk fiction. Her book has been a big inspiration for my writing, especially when it comes to the subject of culture clashes. One of my favorite scenes from my novel A Long Slow Aftermath, when Preston takes his blind friend to her first punk show, is based off of a key scene in PR.

Zilla: Why do you write?

Jeffrey: I was a wild clubber back in eighties and nineties San Francisco. I have way too many stories to tell, and not just wild rock and roll stories. I’ve been in the trenches with the working poor, those living in poverty, and I know the struggles of the homeless. There’s so much more to what I’m writing than crazy club and drug stories. I’ve opened the eyes of some of my readers, and I want to continue to do so. I also would like to tell the muggles what it’s like to do a stage dive, or mosh in a circle pit, or collect all your loose change so you can have some Top Ramen for dinner.

Zilla: Who did you imagine reading your book as you wrote it?

Jeffrey: I appeal to a lot of scenesters, old and not-so-old punk, goths, and musicians when I market my books, but my stories just remind them of their own lives. They do get the satisfaction of seeing their world in the written word. But the people I really want to reach, who also happen to be the kind of people who appreciate my writing the most, are the civilians who don’t know what these worlds are like, the realms of crazy punks, of drug addicts, and of the working class. Those are the people I want to reach. I want them to experience these cultures through my works.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

Jeffrey: I currently have the manuscripts for books six and seven of my Skye Wright series prepared, and I am writing the manuscript for book eight. I launched a Kickstarter in January 2026 to help fund the launch of these books—funds for professional editors, cover art, and book design. I also set it up so that it can take late donations after it expires, if people want to contribute.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Jeffrey: All of my books can be found on my website. The book itself is here: https://needlepictures.com/tbd/book/trieste/