Column Chronicles: ADHD book soars in sales

ADHD book soars in sales

Frank Cotolo
April 7, 2016

Norris Custard's first book is a runaway best seller. The book, "Slime Market Prophets," is the first, to anyone's knowledge, to be published as written by a man who has embraced his severe condition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

"Perhaps others with ADHD have written books," said publisher I.M. Skittle, "but before they were published they were edited to correct any delineation, so no one could tell. But Custard’s book has been published exactly as it was written, making it a pure product of an ADHD author."

No one in the literary world imagined such a book could catch on and sell millions but Custard's book is becoming all the rage and a cash cow. We sat down with Norris Custard for a talk about his amazing success.

US: Did you expect the publishers to work on the text of your book so that the story followed standard dramatic forms?

N. CUSTARD: No. I thought it would never go to press. I was in my pajamas only an hour ago.

US: How long have you had ADHD?

N.C.: Since you arrived and before that. I was a child that kept losing place when I learned to read and the teacher yelled at me. But I had Italian food in Italy once and the waiter spoke Hebrew as well as Italian.

US: How did you arrive at a title for this book?

N.C.: I had a lot of titles and I kept a list but none were bright and catchy. Is Yogi Berra still alive?

US: Was that one of the titles you threw out?

N.C.: Woah, Yogi was thrown out a lot but he was a catcher and he threw out a lot of runners. I may want to write a biography of Yogi Berra for my next book. Is he still alive? Lots of the baseball players from my youth are dead now. Do you like Orange Crush? It's a soda.

US: Do you think that people with ADHD are buying your latest book?

N.C.: Maybe. People are strange that way.

US: How are they strange.

N.C.: That way, you know, when they buy books. Suddenly they feel like buying cold cuts and then they want to build a bird's nest. I'm glad the book was published no matter who reads it.

US: Do you think it will start a literary trend?

N.C.: I don't take ADHD medicine. It stifles my creativity when I write.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.