Describe yourself in a sentence
Really?
What's the one record you'd take to a desert island?
‘Sign o’ the Times’ by Prince
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A comic book artist, moonlighting as a video game critic.
Who's your oldest friend?
My best friend from fourth grade.
If I ruled the world…
It’s complicated.
Which book do you wish you'd written?
‘Pet Sematary’ by Stephen King. Or ‘Lonesome Dove’ by Larry McMurtry. Or ‘Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage’ by Alice Munro. Or ‘The Martian Chronicles’ by Ray Bradbury. Or ‘Double Indemnity’ by James Cain, or ‘Eye of the Needle’ by Ken Follett, or ‘A Visit From the Goon Squad’ by Jennifer Egan, or ‘Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant’ by Anne Tyler … and on and on and on.
What makes you angry?
Willful ignorance.
Name your five dream dinner party guests.
Sigmund Freud, Robert Oppenheimer, Grace Metalious, Robert Heinlein, Patton Oswalt – should be interesting.
Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?
Someone else already said Trump. But… Trump.
What inspired you to start writing?
Stan Lee (and Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko), and Roald Dahl, and The Six Million Dollar Man, and Doctor Seuss, and Logan’s Run, and Choose Your Own Adventure books … and Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws, and William Kotzwinkle’s fantastic novelization of ET: The Extraterrestrial. And even, sadly, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Where would you most like to live?
Near my friends and loved ones, as I do.
Sum up your latest book in no more than 12 words.
CIA-sponsored female assassin murders Snowden-like defector in Moscow, runs like hell. (Are hyphenated terms one word or two? Hm.)