About this book

Marc Connors died in 1991. At that time I was fifteen years old and had been a rabid Nylons fan for several years. Marc was my favorite Nylon; his voice and stage presence seemed utter perfection to me. His death hit me hard. When other musicians have died suddenly--Elvis Presley or John Lennon or Kurt Cobain--there is communal mourning, but at the time of Marc's death I knew no other Nylons fans, and so my sadness was lonely. That was when I resolved to tell Marc's story in the hopes that many more people would learn what an incredible talent he possessed.

I did not begin work in earnest on the book I envisioned until I was eighteen. That was the year I sent a letter to Ian Wallace, Marc's longtime companion, and he gave me his permission to work on this project. He also sent--without my having to ask--photos (some of which you will see on this page), a scrapbook, and other such extraordinary things. His generosity also imparted a great responsiblity--I felt I had to tell Marc's story once I'd been entrusted with all this.

But then I faced some big setbacks, not least of which was my own feeling I didn't have the talent to do the story justice. Once I became convinced I might never do the book I set up a website with some of my research material on it, so that my work wouldn't be a total waste. Because of that site I got an email from Paolo, Marc's nephew. His encouragement helped get me motivated again.

I also received a lot of help from Nylons fan extraordinaire Jim Frewen. He tracked down important people in Marc's life for me to interview. Without exception these friends, fans and loved ones told poignant, funny, fascinating stories.

With the tenth anniversary of Marc's death approaching, I decided to shoot for that year as the deadline for the book to be released. But my work was stalled as I faced the dilemma of how to organize all this great material into a cohesive whole. Should I tell Marc's story chronologically? Should I include all the articles I'd collected on The Nylons over the years?

Fortunately a solution presented itself which gives Voice and Style: Marc Connors of The Nylons an unusual but I think very effective narrative structure. See for yourself by ordering Voice and Style from buybooksontheweb.com.