date unknown Simon & Schuster, disgusting fluff interview

[D Pope]

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Kev ... /interview

<I still can't find a date for this, open to assistance.>

Interview with Kevin J. Anderson



What was your favourite childhood book?
I loved HG Wells, especially THE TIME MACHINE and THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. Also, DUNE and
THE LORD OF THE RINGS had a huge impact on me when I was 11-12 years old.




Which book has made you laugh?
Larry McMurtry’s LONESOME DOVE




Which book has made you cry?
Hmmm, same one!




Which book would you give to a friend as a present?
It would depend on their tastes. I give a lot of books to people whose interests I know,
and I try to get them to try something one small step outside their envelope.




Which other writers do you admire?
Since I am writing my own sprawling space opera, I read the wonderfully vast series of
Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton, and I am constantly intimidated by the things
they do that I don’t believe I could ever pull off.




Which classic have you always meant to read and never got round to it?
ANNA KARENINA or WAR AND PEACE. I’d like to have those in my mental background,
but I’ve never quite felt ready for it.




What are your top five books of all time, in order or otherwise?
DUNE by Frank Herbert
LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry
THE GODFATHER by Mario Puzo
THE LORD OF THE RINGS by JRR Tolkien (I know, it’s cheating...but the three books are really one long novel)
GORKY PARK by Martin Cruz Smith




Is there a particular book or author that inspired you to be a writer?
Frank Herbert was a gigantic influence on me, as was HG Wells, as I mentioned above.
I saw the original STAR WARS when I was 15 years old and already wanting to be a science
fiction writer. That film crystallized for me how vast and wonderful the canvas of science
fiction could be.




What is your favourite time of day to write?
Mornings, after I’ve had a good night’s sleep and with a fresh cup of coffee in me.
But realistically, I write all day long, any chance I can get.
I’m doing this interview late at night.




And favourite place?
Out on a beautiful hiking trail in the wilderness, preferably the mountains or the desert
(both of which are within driving distance for me).




Longhand or word processor?
None of the above. I prefer to write with a hand-held tape recorder,
dictating my prose as I go on long hikes.




Which fictional character would you most like to have met?
Duke Leto Atreides. He was always my favorite hero
(and he’s not even the main character!)




Who, in your opinion, is the greatest writer of all time?
I couldn’t venture to say — my college background was in physics and
astronomy, with a minor in Russian History!




Which book have you found yourself unable to finish?
Quite a few of them, alas. My reading time is limited and very precious.
If the author cannot make his work comprehensible and engaging, then I
feel no obligation to keep reading.




What is your favourite word?
Ummm (I seem to use it a lot when asked difficult questions.)




Other than writing, what other jobs or professions have you undertaken or considered?
I’ve been a technical editor for a research laboratory; I’ve worked as a graphic designer,
waiter, bartender, vitamin salesman. I’ve baled hay on a farm, tended 40,000 white lab
rats in a facility that raised them for research, worked maintaining trails in the county parks.
All of which, of course, added to my repertoire of experiences from which I draw when writing
stories or creating characters.



What was the first piece you ever had in print?
A bit in a “high school writings” magazine, a very short story about a melted glass bottle
that washes up on the shore of a radioactive devastated sea following a nuclear war, and in
blackened letters the paint still says “COKE ADDS LIFE.” Very lame humor, but I was only
twelve years old at the time.



Can you think of a question that we didn’t ask you?
Yes



What would the answer be?
42



...

<as a bonus i'm going to include the following snippet>
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Kev ... r_revealed

Kevin J. Anderson Revealed

About Kevin J. Anderson


What is your birthdate?: 3/1

Previous occupations: tech writer, lab-rat wrangler, waiter, bartender

Favorite job: writing stories--i.e., making up stuff.

High school and/or college: Wisconsin

Name of your favorite composer or music artist?: RUSH

Favorite movie: One only? OK, Star Wars

Favorite television show: It's nice to have so many good ones to watch.



Revealing Questions

Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Writing, hiking, writing, eating, writing, editing, reading, writing
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. The harder I work, the luckier I get.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Being able to hike in the beautiful mountains and write a great story at the same time.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. That I won't have time to write all the stories inside my head that are clamoring to be told.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. In a cozy cabin up in the Rocky Mountains
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Charles Dickens



On Books and Writing

Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. Frank Herbert, Larry McMurtry, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Peter F. Hamilton, Jack McDevitt
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. DUNE LONESOME DOVE THE STAND GORKY PARK SHOGUN
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. Dune
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Be persistent--it's like trying out for the Olympic team.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. Don't you ever sleep?



...

[SandRider]

there must be a different word for this type of "fill-in-the-blank" email "interview", because they are not interviews at all ...

"Anderson's completed questionnaire from S&S" would be more descriptive, & truthful ....

the transcribed conversations with Frank in this forum are "interviews" - someone asking questions, follow-up questions,
a "discussion" ... I've seen too much of this kind of stuff now, not just with Keith, but everywhere, since the advent of
the internet ... everyone with a blahg is an "author" ... or a "journalist" ....

the one time in my life I've ever done anything like this was the Spinrad interview - I feel like I can call it an interview,
because there were three go-rounds with him - I had an initial set of questions, and some of his first answers brought
others to mind, and I asked him some follow-ups and for some clarifications ....

the final "interview" I posted was an edited version of the three responses from him; three responses to the questions
about Frank, I mean ... there were actually five responses, the first was him agreeing to look at some questions and
answer them if they didn't piss him off too much, and the last was him politely asking me to fuck off ... it seems he
had little to no interest in joining the OH Jihad as he was (still) pursuing his own jihad against the American Publishing
Establishment over their refusal to take on "osama the gun" ....

[Omphalos]

I've always seen them both called "e-mail interviews." I have the same problem. After they do a ton of them, they have a set of canned responses to the same old questions.

How about "e-mail interview" for the type of thing you did with Spinrad, and "form interview" for the other kind?

[SandChigger]

How about "e-mail interview" for the type of thing you did with Spinrad, and "form interview" for the other kind?

That sounds pretty good, actually.

[Freakzilla]

Jacurutu Interview
Sent By:
"James Kendrick" <jlkiv@comcast.net> On: Dec 12/02/10 9:43 PM
To: byron@dunenovels.com

Byron,

Can you get me an email interview with Kevin?

Not a form interview with canned answers, a real face-the-opposition interview?

No holds barred cage match.

Respectful and polite, of course.

Your Most Active Member,

Freakzilla

[merkin muffley]

Not a chance in hell.

The least Byron can do, though, is respond. I mean, come on, man.

[D Pope]

I wonder if Byron will even tell him.

[Omphalos]

I wonder if Byron will even tell him.

Pretty sure it's in Byron's job description to stand between bobo and the hack and "the fans."

[Serkanner]

I am pretty sure that the only response will be: "not enough free time to talk right now maybe later".

[D Pope]

I suspect you guys are right.

Do you think that his association with the masses makes him 'untouchable' at HPL?

[SandChigger]

Will never happen.

What we need to do is find someone who would be willing to lure KJA into a face-to-face interview, at a con or other appearance, and then just totally bushwhack the fucker.

Sure, the coward would probably get up and walk, but even THAT would be fun to publicize. Make him look bad any way we can.

I've even wondered how much it would cost to get a PI to trail (and maybe record?) him on a hike...


And even if we couldn't find a willing ambush interviewer or afford a PI, just saying we had or were looking into it could be enough to make KJA paranoid and cause him to alter his behavior.

Time to get more creative with the pressure. WITHIN legal bounds, of course.

[Freakzilla]

I like the way you think, I'll be watching you...

[D Pope]

I've added some more undated fluff.

I never knew 14evin identified most with Charles Dickens!

[lotek]

If the author cannot make his work comprehensible and engaging, then I
feel no obligation to keep reading.

[SandChigger]

I've added some more undated fluff.

I never knew 14evin identified most with Charles Dickens!

I don't think he does, really, it was just his way of seeming relevant while Simmons' Drood was out.

KJA wanted to do his own, more turdy version. Was going to call it Droodle.