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The Edge of the Forest: Your most recent book is True Talents, released earlier this spring. It's been
described as "An action-packed adventure where things blow up, people die, and Torchie buys an accordion." Anything else
you'd like readers to know ahead of time?
David: That's a tough question. It's hard to decide whether to reply with a terse, "You'll like it," or entire
paragraphs about everything from my use of point of view to the socio-political subtext. Given that I'm really not sure
what "socio-political" means, or that it would function as an enticement, let's just compromise and say, "Things blow up.
You'll like it."
The Edge of the Forest:Your latest collection of short stories, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies and Other
Warped and Creepy Tales is due out from Tor Books in September, 2007. Care to hint at what horrors it holds?
David: The stories vary from funny to scary to weird. I always try to solve life's great mysteries in my work.
In this case, among other things, I explain why clowns are creepy and show what happens if you don't eat your vegetables.
Despite the wonderfully goofy cover and silly title, there is a lot of depth to these stories. I explore eternity, Zeno's
paradox, linguistics, vengeance, and chalk. This is my third collection. (The first two are In the Land of the
Lawn Weenies and Invasion of the Road Weenies.) Given the difficulty of publishing short stories, I feel
pretty fortunate to have found a hungry market for my work. I'm already amassing stories for my next collection, though
we haven't selected a title Weenie yet.
The Edge of the Forest:What's next?
David: I'm working on a three-book series for Tor that combines martial arts and magic. It will be for
middle-grade readers. But after I finish, I'll probably get the urge to write another YA novel. There are a couple ideas
that have been kicking around in my mind for a while.
The Edge of the Forest: In addition to keeping your website very current, you keep a blog, Gadfly in the Ointment.
Why do you blog? Your blog has a subtitle: "A daily tongue-in-cheek (or elsewhere) comment on some aspect of the book
world." Does that adequately reflect your blog's contents?
David: I blog to waste time. It's my nature to avoid doing whatever I'm supposed to be doing. That's why I do so
many interviews. And I blog so that millions of people will know who I am and buy my books. I'm pretty sure I already
have a couple dozen loyal readers, so I only need 1,999,976 more to reach my target. As for content, I'm really all over
the map with what I do there. I might post a one-liner joke about something in the news, or a longer humor piece about
some current publishing trend. I recently paired a picture of Alberto Gonzales with one of Mickey Mouse because I noticed
they have the same smile. On occasion, I slip up and share some useful information. A blog is also a wonderful place to
put emphemeral humor. When I see a headline and a joke comes to mind, I can now share that joke with millions of readers.
Or a couple dozen.
The Edge of the Forest: Scott Hudson from Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie did such a great job with the journal
he kept for his younger sibling, that we can't help but wonder—what would his blog look like? Also, will we be hearing
any more from Scott in the future?
David: Scott's blog would be about books and reading. It might also include tips on how to torture a baby brother.
I have Scott in suspended animation for the moment. If we hear from him again, it won't be for a while. But, thanks to
the miracle of cryonics, if he does emerge, I'm pretty sure he'll be a sophomore.
The Edge of the Forest: If the guys from Hidden Talents and True Talents kept a communal blog, what would that
look like? Would Cheater not even need to read it? Would Flinch end up tipping folks off about what was going to happen
next?
David: Cheater would have trivia contests, or maybe challenge people to ask him something he couldn't answer.
Flinch would tell jokes. Martin would be sarcastic. Torchie would post audio files of himself playing "Oh Susannah" on
every possible musical instrument. Trash would post his art work. Lucky would run a lost and found section which would
eventually expand into a site rivaling Craig's List.
The Edge of the Forest: Who's the kitty in your blog icon? Are the other two kitties jealous they don't
appear on your blog?
David: That's Tybalt. He's a big, fluffy scaredy cat with a gentle spirit. The other cats aren't jealous.
Simon is on my web site and in one of my author photos. Layla is too stupid to realize she's being deprived of fame.
The Edge of the Forest: Based on your bio and your blog, I know you to be an avid reader. What books have
you been reading lately?
David: I just picked up Johnny Got his Gun. I'd been meaning to read it for a while, and I stumbled
across a copy, so it's at the top of my pile. I'm currently enjoying Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize. I
liked Lauire Halse Anderson's Twisted.
The Edge of the Forest: Do your wife and daughter influence your writing in any way?
David: Absolutely. They give me great critiques. My wife would make an excellent copy editor. My daughter is
smarter than I am. (So are lots of other people, but I generally won't admit that.) They also influence me by reminding
me that if I don't write, we don't get to buy things.
The Edge of the Forest: Which do you prefer—writing horror or humor?
David: Humor. But it's close. I really enjoy writing creepy stuff, but humor brings me more pleasure. I like to
laugh. And I like it when I write something that makes me laugh.
The Edge of the Forest: Do you have a favorite joke or pun you'd care to share with our readers?
David: Here's my favorite one-liner from my blog. I'm fond of it because of the economy of words, and the fact that
it takes a second to get the punch line. When the President of Venezuela called George Bush "the devil," I blogged:
"Chavez calls Bush the devil, proving he doesn't know Dick." Oops—I guess that just cost me 29% of my readers.
I'll miss those 7 folks.
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