13:30) VALERIE MORRIS, CNNfn ANCHOR, IT'S ONLY MONEY: Here on IT'S ONLY MONEY we always enjoy bringing you young headline makers. Our next guest is certainly that. Arnon Grunberg is the author of "Blue Mondays." It is a book that he wrote on a dare when he was 22 years old, and that dare went on to sell 70,000 copies overseas. It has now come to the U.S., and I am welcoming Arnon Grunberg to IT'S ONLY MONEY.
Nice to see you.

ARNON GRUNBERG, AUTHOR, "BLUE MONDAYS": Nice to see you.

MORRIS: On a dare?

GRUNBERG: On a dare, yes.

MORRIS: Tell us about it.

GRUNBERG: I had my own publishing company. After I was kicked out of high school, I did several jobs, and at a certain point, I was making copies for an office. And I decided, if I don't want to make photocopies the rest of my life, I have to do something. So, I started my publishing company, but the publishing company got into problems - in big problems. I had debts. They came after me, the banks, the printers.

MORRIS: Is that another way of saying you weren't a good businessman?

GRUNBERG: That's a nice way to put it. Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

MORRIS: Now, when you say that you were kicked out of school - I have to backtrack a little bit

GRUNBERG: OK.

MORRIS: before we get to "Blue Monday" because your teachers would probably be quite startled at your success because in school how did - what did they say about you?

GRUNBERG: Well, they liked me, but when I was 15, they said please leave the school and never come back.

MORRIS: Because?

GRUNBERG: I was at the point of my life I hated school. I had my first girlfriend. See, I lost her. She went away. I just - and I want to become an actor. So, I said to myself what the hell do I need high school for? And I was always in cafes and bars. And then the director of the school, he said, we like you. You're a nice young man, but you are

MORRIS: Please get out of here.

GRUNBERG: set some bad example for all the other children. So, please go away.

MORRIS: So, they thought you were a disruptive force because what you really loved doing was being in the coffee houses, talking and creating. That ultimately led to what has been described as a - the misadventures of a young person in Amsterdam. Tell us about the book.

GRUNBERG: Well, the book, it's part based on my life, but it's fiction. I made a lot of things. It's about a young man. He falls in love when he's 15. He gets kicked out of high school. His father dies. It's about his encounters after that with prostitution. He's getting into big money problems. So, he think the only way - he tried a lot of things. The only way to get - to make some money is maybe become a gigolo. So, the end of the book, he is trying to become a gigolo, but nobody's calling. The guy at the gigolo office says well, if we have work for you, we'll call you. But it turns out nobody's calling.

MORRIS: So, you were attempting to be the character who, by the way, the narrator also happens to be named Arnon Grunberg.

GRUNBERG: Yeah. I did it on purpose because even if I would call him John Doe I think - and also my publicist stated to me a lot of people will still - don't - wouldn't see the difference between John Doe and you. So, just call him Arnon Grunberg to make the confusion a little bit bigger.

MORRIS: When we talk about the percentage that is true and the percentage that is fiction, fill in the blanks for me. How much true; how much fiction?

GRUNBERG: That's hard to say, but I would say 30 percent is fiction; 70 is true.

MORRIS: All right. I have a list of things here.

GRUNBERG: OK.

MORRIS: A young man kicked out of high school 15 years ago, we know that's true. You already admitted that. The character in the book wanted to be an actor? True. He took on a job to make money. True?

GRUNBERG: That's true.

MORRIS: All right. Your book is making some good money now. Tell us what your fortune has been with book number 1 as book number 2 is in progress.

GRUNBERG: Yeah. It's coming out in the Netherlands in 1 month. First of all, I wrote it on a dare, and so I was making a little money. You get a little advance payment if you write a novel. But, I didn't expect - they told me a first novel normally is selling in the Netherlands 2,000 copies. So I expected to sell 2,000 copies, and then remember when the book was out, like I think everybody would do - I went to the bookstore to see where is my book. And really - and to a big bookstore in Amsterdam, and my book was nowhere. It wasn't there.

MORRIS: And you - what did you think?

GRUNBERG: I think OK. That's - this is it. Even the biggest bookstore in Amsterdam didn't buy my book. So, I called my publisher, and I said listen. In the biggest bookstore in Amsterdam, my book is not there.

MORRIS: And they said?

GRUNBERG: And they said, yeah. That's - it's nowhere because it's sold out. In the 4 days the first print was sold out. And in 2 weeks, 3 prints they're sold out. And I remember every time when I heard there was a new print, I bought myself a bottle of champagne to celebrate. So it was

MORRIS: Your celebrations have probably been appropriate. Right now, at the age of 25, being able to buy a good bottle of champagne and celebrate a best seller on your number 1 book, and then the second 1 in progress, I think most 20-somethings would identify with that and would like to go that way. Has this brought any difficulty for you having fame and at least early fortune?

GRUNBERG: No. I would not say difficulty. I left Amsterdam 6 months after the book came out. I think for a while that's nice when you can go in to bar and nobody knows who you are. And at a certain point in Amsterdam I went to a bar and the people wanted to speak about a book. And in the beginning, it's great. I mean, the first somebody who recognizes you on the street, it's laughable. It's just think - wow. But after it's happening a lot of times, it's - it get a little bit disturbing. So - and especially for - I think for a writer who has to observe, it's nice to be completely unknown.

MORRIS: And now, since you know that you aren't a great businessman, I would imagine along with your early money from the book, you've hired an accountant or somebody else to help you kind of process through this?

GRUNBERG: Yes. I did.

MORRIS: OK. Very good. And one quick thing, the name of the book, "Blue Mondays," where did that come from.

GRUNBERG: A blue Monday is an expression in Dutch. That means you - a thing you did for a very short period of time. You can say I worked a blue Monday as a doctor. I studied a blue Monday economy.

MORRIS: It means for a real quick brief moment.

GRUNBERG: Really quick like this.

MORRIS: OK. Well, we hope that you have more than blue Monday's success, that you have long term success with your writing. And thank you very much for joining us.

GRUNBERG: Thank you.

MORRIS: The name is Arnon Grunberg, and he is the author of "Blue Mondays." Appreciate you being here.