Author Interview: 20 Questions with Ned Vizzini

The 20 Question Interview with our very own Turkeybird is our feature interview that happens with all of the book authors, illustrators and poets we love!

Today we’re welcoming non-other than young adult author, Ned Vizzini. He has a number of young adult novels, including one that was made into a major motion picture, It’s Kind of a Funny Story. His newest, The Other Normals came out in September and features a main character who loves gaming and uses it to save a princess as well as some new friends. This one is perfect for the Turkeybird in a few years, but until then sit back and enjoy the Turkeybird’s 20 Question interview with Ned Vizzini…

1. What’s your favorite game? (I love playing Portal right now!)

One of my smartest friends in the world loved Portal (the first one). I don’t have time to play video games. The closest I come is playing Mahjong Titans on plane rides.

2. Do you like being the good guy or the bad guy in games better?

I always like being the good guy, in everything.

3. Why?

When I’m the bad guy, I get yelled at.

4. Crayons or Markers?

Markers.

5. Why?

I don’t like the way crayons smell. Plus I find them annoyingly tactile. Actually, I hate everything sensory about crayons.

6. What’s your favorite color?

Yellow. But my power color is orange.

7. Do you think Perry’s summer camp could be real? It sounds so cool!

Perry’s summer camp, Camp Washiska Lake, is real, in that it was based on a two camps that I went to in the early 1990s. One of them had yurts and the other had the dining hall as described. The fantasy world that Perry goes to, the World of the Other Normals, is not real, but I did my best to make it seem possible by getting into the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. According to the phsyics, it could be real.

8. If you were five what would you read next?

Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book. A overlooked classic.

9. Do you have a favorite treat? (Mine is chocolate ice cream!)

I cannot resist cashews.

10. When you were my age did you like to read?

Yes, I always liked to read. Now that I’m older I read more emails than books and it’s a little sad. But I am always ready to get lost in a book.

11. Legos or video games?

Legos.

12. Why?

Once video games became 3D (Doom, 1993), they became too much like real life. Now they’re just a drag.

13. My mom said you like playing music too. Is music or writing better? (I’d pick writing, I leave the music to Littlebug. Plech!)

If I could, I’d be a musician instead of a writer. There’s nothing quite like being on stage. But I was never good enough. I do have an archive of my recorded music here.

14. Do you ever think you’ll write a book for kids my age?

I don’t like to rule things out.

15. What would you write about?

A character called “The Poor Old Wizard” and his battles with “Vicious Vampire.”

16. I’m starting school soon (kindergarten). What was your favoritest part about school?

My favorite part was “Writer’s Workshop,” in 2nd grade, when I first got my hands on a blank book.

17. Swings or Slides?

Swings.

18. Why?

You can set goals on a swing.

19. Was it fun having a book turn into a movie? (That seems super cool!)

Yes, it was fun, cool, humbling and unexpected.

20. What are you writing right now?

Right now I am writing for a TV show: Last Resort on ABC! It’s on at 8pm so you can watch it, unless you have a really crazy bedtime.

The Turkeybird Speaks: Thanks for the interview Ned! I can’t believe you don’t play video games, but you wrote a book about a kid that plays games! Now that I’m in kindergarten I don’t get to play a whole lot of games. Maybe when the holidays happen I get to have time to play more. I’m super excited to read your book when I get a little bit bigger, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Thanks so much Ned!

Find The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Thank you so much to the publisher, Balzer + Bray, for providing a copy of this book for review! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook!
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.