Bio:
Antony John was born in England and raised on a balanced diet of fish and chips, obscure British comedies, and ABBA's Greatest Hits. In a fit of teenage rebellion, he decided to pursue a career in classical music, culminating in a BA from Oxford University and a PhD from Duke University. Along the way, he worked as an ice cream seller on a freezing English beach, a tour guide in the Netherlands, a chauffeur in Switzerland, a barista in Seattle, and a university professor. Writing by night, he spends his days as a stay-at-home dad—the only job that allows him to wear his favorite pair of sweatpants all the time. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
Music Guest Post
Here’s a funny thing: If you had asked authors fortheir “book playlist” about ten years ago, they might have thought you werecrazy. It’s not that authors didn’t listen to music while they wrote, just thatthe notion of long and carefully scripted playlists didn’t exist in the sameway back then.
Well, that’s all changed now. A lot of authors Iknow write in coffee shops, which almost forcesan author to listen to something, if only to drown out all the backgroundnoise. And since songs can affect one’s mood, even transport one to a differentplace or time of life, selecting just the right mix has become almost an artform.
Fortunately, when I was writing ROAD TRIP, I had agreat starting point. I’d recently watched the movie, “Into the wild,” which aswell as inspiring my already abundant wanderlust, also boasted an extraordinarysoundtrack by Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam fame). It was atmospheric and eerie,melancholy and moving, much like the movie itself. To this day, I can’t getthat movie out of my head, and 90 percent of that is because of the music.
I used Eddie’s soundtrack as the basis for my mix,and built around it. That way, even though there were almost one hundred songsin the mix, I was periodically pulled back into Eddie’s world. Those songs werelike anchors. I never got too far from my vision as long as I was listening tothem.
As for the rest of the songs on the playlist, Imostly went for pop and rock, because I wanted to go for a realistic,contemporary feel. (In contrast, I mostly listened to classical music whilewriting my new fantasy novel, ELEMENTAL, which comes out this fall, because Iwas trying to evoke something mysterious and atmospheric.) I concentrated onupbeat, almost humorous songs in the early stages of writing: “Do-Wah-Doo” byKate Nash; “One of the boys” by Katy Perry; “Extraordinary” by Mandy Moore.Then, as the novel progressed, and the situations I was depicting becameincreasingly fraught, I preferred darker songs: “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed;“Back to black” by Amy Winehouse; “Mad World” by Gary Jules; “Paranoid Android”by Radiohead. (Th
1 Comments on Guest Post: Antony John author of Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, last added: 4/11/2012
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By: Inspired Kathy,
on 12/13/2010
Blog: I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Interview, Giveaways, Best of 2010, Author Antony John, Add a tag
I recently read, reviewed and LOVED the book Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John. Last month I did an interview & giveaway for his book. I'm thrilled that Antony agreed to do another interview and giveaway on my blog in conjunction with BIR2010.
Interview:
What's your favorite music genre? Favorite artist? Song?
I have a very wide range of musical interests, but--and this is so predictable coming from someone with a Ph.D. in music, I know--classical is tops. Favorite artist: Bach. His music is sublime. It's why I wanted to become a composer in the first place.
Is there anything you need in order to write? (ie Chocolate, quiet, music)
Time. Seriously, give me an hour and I'll get stuff done. But I'm a stay-at-home dad, so I only have two hours a day to write, and it's really not enough. Still, looking on the bright side, I've never come close to experiencing writers block.
Night owl, or early bird?
I write best in the mornings, but I'm a night owl, no question. I loathe mornings. In my opinion, it's impossible to wake up late enough.
One food you would never eat?
Chocolate. Just don't like it. Which causes most people to regard me as though I'm a mutant. At least until they realize that leaves more chocolate for them, at which point they find it a delightful trait.
Favorite Cartoon?
The Simpsons (circa 1990s). Utterly brilliant.
Paranormal or Normal?
Do I really have to choose? See, I actually love the parallel existence of "normal" and paranormal in YA, and the fact that the same writers frequently work in both genres. (Including me, by the way; Dial will be publishing my ELEMENTAL trilogy starting fall 2012.) To me, it's all about the quality of the writing, and I have to say that, right now, there's some pretty amazing writing out there.
What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
College basketball. I went to Duke, and had season tickets every year I was there. If I hadn't, I'd probably have finished my degree in five years instead of six, but I don't regret a moment. It's such an unpredictable sport, and March Madness is almost the perfect sporting event.
I also try to follow the English soccer team--I'm English, after all--but it's not easy. Even when they're physically, technically, and tactically superior to their opponents, they still find a way to choke. It's actually quite mesmerizing.
How do you react to a bad review?
No one likes bad reviews, but I decided a long time ago that a professional reviewer reads enough books to have an opinion worth reading, whether they like my book or not. In the case of my first book, BUSTED, the School Library Journal reviewer wrote the following line: "the characters are flat, stereotyped, and, except where it serves the machinations of the plot, one-dimensional." It was by far the worst line of any review I got, but at the same time, I thought there was at least a little truth to it. And so I vowed that in my next book, every single character would b
13 Comments on #BIR2010 - Book Giveaway: Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John + Interview, last added: 12/16/2010
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By: Inspired Kathy,
on 11/24/2010
Blog: I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Author Antony John, Interview, Giveaways, Add a tag
I recently read, reviewed and LOVED the book Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John. I'm thrilled that Antony agreed to do an interview and giveaway on my blog!
Bio:
Antony John was born in England and raised on a balanced diet of fish and chips, obscure British comedies, and ABBA's Greatest Hits. In a fit of teenage rebellion, he decided to pursue a career in classical music, culminating in a BA from Oxford University and a PhD from Duke University. Along the way, he worked as an ice cream seller on a freezing English beach, a tour guide in the Netherlands, a chauffeur in Switzerland, a barista in Seattle, and a university professor. Writing by night, he spends his days as a stay-at-home dad—the only job that allows him to wear his favorite pair of sweatpants all the time. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
Interview:
- If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
Future, definitely. My wife (an infectious diseases physician) says that going into the past is tantamount to suicide. Besides, I'd really like to see the twenty-eighth generation iPad.
- If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
1. My family
2. My laptop (with, conveniently, an inexplicable and free source of wifi)
3. Sunblock
- What is the last book you read?
I got hold of an ARC for WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman (the sequel to IF I STAY). What can I say? Gayle is a beautiful writer, and the book is great. There are definitely overtones of the movie "Before sunrise," but that's hardly a bad thing, right? And I read it in just two days, which is a sure sign that it's compelling. A definite (and strong) recommend. (Oh, I should add that it doesn't come out for another six months - sorry about that. But hey, you could win it if you visit my website!)
- When you were 12 years old what did you want to be when you grew up?
Easy: Film composer. I was obsessed by music and movies. And yes, I really do mean *obsessed*. In fact, I don't think there was any doubt in my mind that that's what I'd be. (Clearly I was a somewhat delusional pre-teen.)
- What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
By "favorite," you really mean "favorites," right? In which case: pralines and cream; pistachio; coffee . ... actually, this list is about to get really long. I think I should stop right here.
- What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
I always start the day with a rather awesome combo of Trader Joe's O's mixed with a smattering of their Super Nutty Toffee Clusters. Yum!
- How many books do you read a week/month?
Okay, confession time: I am a SLOW reader. And I don't mean, like, not very fast. I mean, jaw slackening slow. Positively glacial. Paint dries faster than I read, etc etc. All of which means that I'm lucky if I average a book every couple weeks. I LOVE reading YA, I really do, but every book is a big time commitment for me, so I have to be choosy. On the bright side, I've developed a knack for getting a lot out of every book I read, which is some consolation, I guess. (Aside from the sheer joy of
11 Comments on Interview & Book Giveaway: Author Antony John - Five Flavors of Dumb, last added: 11/27/2010
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I read Five Flavors of Dumb. It was very good! Looking forward to this book!