JB: I'm working on my second YA book for Knopf. If all goes as planned it will come out just about one year after the first one, so put it on your February 2011 calendar! (What, you don't have one yet??) It's similar to the first book in that it has a lot of comedy mixed with a murder but it's different in a lot of ways. The basic plot is about a high school forensics club who finds a dead body. Let the hilarity begin!
Me: Spiderman or Superman:
JB: Spiderman, but mainly because I really like Peter Parker, especially in the old comics and cartoons. He was always neurotic and dorky, so growing up I really identified with him.
Me: Wonder Woman or Batgirl:
JB: I'm going to go with Wonder Woman because once I dressed up as her when I was in a rock band that liked to wear costumes. Please don't ask to see pictures.
Me: Chunky or Smooth:
JB: Smoove.
Me: Favorite flavor ice cream:
JB: I object to this question on the grounds of lactose intolerance.
Me: Favorite ice cream topping:
JB: See above.
Me: Subway or Taxi:
JB: Do I prefer the TV show Taxi or the restaurant Subway? What an odd question ... Oh, wait. I get it. I don't get to NYC very often & I'm easily confused so when I visit the city I splurge on the taxi. My friends who live in the city are always like "it's easy, you just take the E uptown then cross the platform and take the 1 or the 9, blink your eyes and spin around three times and you're there!" I'm like "taxi."
Me: Broadway Show or Movie Theater:
JB: I don't get out much. I do like movies though and generally am sort of creeped out by musical theater. Not sure why that is.
Me: TiVo or DVR:
JB: I'm familiar with what these things are, but only in a vague and general sense.
Me: Favorite vacation place:
JB: I think I'd go to Maui every year if I could. As it is I've been once. And, yes, I found the secret naked red sand beach.
Me: Next vacation destination:
JB: My life revolves around my kids these days so probably the zoo? Sesame Place? Probably not the naked red sand beach.
Me: Favorite NYC hotspot:
JB: Is the New York Public Library a hotspot? I love that place!
Me: Guilty Pleasure:
JB: I eat a lot of candy. I don't actually feel guilty about it, but I probably should.
Me: Good luck charm:
JB: I always wanted to be the kind of person who had a lucky penny or a good luck hat or something, but I kept losing them. I pretty much lose or break everything I own. So no good luck charms for me. Possibly I need one.
Me: When you were a young boy, you thought you would grow up to be a….
JB: Very young: baseball player. Somewhat older: author. Teenager/college student: rock star. And then back to author. I'm still holding on to baseball player as a possibility.
Me: Last thing bought at the mall:
JB: I bought fancy pants to wear to meet my editor in New York. Don't tell her I shopped to impress her. But yeah, I did. The pants are really quite fancy.
Me: Item on your grocery list:
JB: Chicken nuggets, milk, goldfish crackers, diapers.
Me: French fries or Onion Rings:
JB: Onion Rings are for special occasions. French fries are day-to-day.
Me: Pizza: New York or Chicago?
JB: Pizza bagels.
Me: Midnight snack:
JB: Pizza bagels.
Me: Bookmark or dog ear?
JB: Pizza bagels. Oh wait, I mean bookmark! I usually read library books so would never dog ear!
Me: Read with dustjacket or remove it?
JB: People take the dustjacket off? What about the dust!? Those people are weird.(Sorry if you are one.)
Me: Ocean, Lake, Desert, Mountain:
JB: I like mountains if I don't actually have to, you know, climb them.
Me: Favorite book:
JB: Hardest question ever! It changes all the time & is usually whatever I'm reading at the moment.
Me: Item you can't live without:
JB: I'm fairly addicted to my Macbook. Would it be weird if again mentioned pizza bagels?
Me: Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?
JB: Well people have all probably heard of him because he was in a band and then ran for governor of Texas, but I think more people need to read the works of Kinky Friedman. His books are hilarious mysteries and at times rather wise. I think so anyway.
Me: What kid or teen books made a difference in your world growing up?
JB: The Chronicles of Narnia made me want to be a writer, specifically of books about talking animals and swordsmen. I have failed thus far on working any of these into my books. I didn't really read "teen books" (did those even exist in the '90s? I guess so) but then discovered Kurt Vonnegut in high school. Like so many of us, he was my first and greatest inspiration. I met him once! Remains a highlight of my life.
Me: Where do you like to write your books (bed ~ coffee shop ~ an office)?
JB: I used to write a lot at coffee shops with a notebook but now I mostly write in my basement while the boy naps upstairs.
Me: Describe your ideal place to write:
JB: I don't think I'm very much impacted by the outside world while I write so it doesn't matter all that much to me. If it's a good writing day the surroundings are more or less irrelevant. Also I'm used to writing with distractions so it doesn't even need to be quiet or clean or pretty or anything. But ideally it would be a place with lots of coffee within reach. That said, I wouldn't mind writing with the Macbook on that naked beach in Maui.
Me: What are you reading @ the moment?
JB: The Spectacular Now, American Rust, and The Lightning Thief to name a few.
Me: Where do you usually read?
JB: On the couch, but I also like to carry books around and read random places like while filling my tank at the gas station.
Me: Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
JB: Yes, I always am reading eight books at once and often also listening to one in the car. I don't actually recommend it. (The eight at once, that is. Audio books in the car I definitely do recommend! Am big fan.)
Me: Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
JB: Not really "different" in regards to place or any literal way. But becoming a writer of fiction has made me look at fiction a lot 2more critically. It's actually a downside of becoming a writer; it's a bit harder to get swept up in the story like I used to while studying the language and plot for something I can steal, uh, I mean, "learn from." I have no aspirations to write non-fiction so I can just sort of read and not analyze. I like books about music and musicians and also biographies of U.S. presidents for some nerdy reason.
About Josh:
Josh was born in Bethlehem, PA in 1976.
I am the child of two librarians! I didn't really ever think I'd be an author, but I always loved books. Some of my favorite authors as a kid were C.S. Lewis and Lloyd Alexander. In high school I discovered Kurt Vonnegut who remains one of my favorites. Later I became fascinated with authors like Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Bukowski, and Tom Robbins. I didn't study literature in school, but I did (of course) take a job as a librarian after college. I then went to grad school and studied young adult literature at the University of Pittsburgh. I got really excited about all the fantastic things going on in YA and started writing my own. A few years of blood, sweat, and tears later, I now am able to see these books on the shelves! I have also published poems and written for newspapers, but I love fiction best of all! Making stuff up is clearly what I was born to do.
JB: Thanks for the fun questions, Diane!
Dr. Patrick Drake: I'm sorry, Josh, Diane is unable to speak @ the moment due to a few cracked ribs she acquired from laughing so hard during this interview.
Nurse Epiphany Johnson: I'm sure she'd thank you but she also has a case of laryngitis caused by your natural witticisms.
Spinelli: The Curly Diva is beyond bounds with gratitude most jovial scribe!
Check out:
Josh Berk Books
Josh's blog
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AuthorsNow!
The 10ers
THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN
by Josh Berk
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
February 9, 2010
Cover art by Philippe Petit-Roulet.
THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN tells the hilarious story of Will Halpin, an overweight deaf teen who spends his first year at a mainstream high school looking for love, failing Algebra, unraveling the school's social scene, trying to get invited to the greatest party ever … and, oh yeah, solving a murder.
Available February 9th 2010!
Wanna add it to your holiday wishlist? Pre~order:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
Good Reads
Indie Bound!
Powell's Books
Random House
Author Photo by Olaf Starorypinski
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