Brent Hartinger is another one of our "Guys". Come see him for that program on Thursday from 10-11:50 a.m. as well as his other appearances, which should dub Thursday as "Go See Brent Hartinger Day":
Thursday 8-9:50 for the Ideas and Influence: Fantasy and Science Fiction for Teens (co-sponsored with GLBT Interest Group and PLD)
and
Thursday from 2-3:50 for the Super Heroes, Ghosts, and Gay Teens: GLBT YA Literature sponsored by GLBT Interest Group
Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?
I have never attended TLA before, but I've attended MANY conferences. My advice is to relax. You can't do it all, and you'll regret it if you try. It's better to make two genuine connections than to shake hands with 150 people. But bring business cards anyway.
The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?
Newbery Award-winning author. Wait, does it have to be an accurate description? Well, in that case, scratch that.
What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?
What is longhand exactly? And what is this "typewriter" of which you speak? I write on my desktop's ergonomic keyboard. I honestly can't imagine not having the "search and replace" feature, not to mention the thesaurus.
What are you reading right now?
I just finished The Things They Carried, the Vietnam novel. Just when you think nothing more can be said about a topic, you read something that reminds you were wrong.
Movie you've loved in the past year
I liked Waitress and Sunshine a lot. I found quite a few of the Oscar contenders really over-rated, especially Juno. And while I liked No Country for Old Men, I thought the ending was just plain bad.
The perfect vacation is...
It used to be "an adventure in some unfamiliar place." But lately it's becoming more and more, "Some place with an all-you-can-eat buffet and where I can sit on my ass and read undisturbed." But I'm NOT getting old and I resent the implication that I am!
Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?
Oh, God, I am sooo seriously sick of vampires. Zombies too, frankly, but I wrote a book about them (Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies), so that's what I have to go with.
Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?
