Neal Shusterman Revealed
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. Poignant thinking out of the box, on rye.
- Q. What is your motto or maxim?
- A. Try to see things differently -- It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life.
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. Being with my kids, while eating sushi, on a cruise, having just reached my "goal weight," after e-mailing a final draft of my best book yet, on New Years Eve.
- Q. What’s your greatest fear?
- A. A fear of the universe being indifferent to our existence. And spiders.
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. Definitely Venice, Italy. Unless it's flooding again.
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. William Shakespeare's lesser-known brother, Kyle..
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. Barack Obama, Steven Spielberg, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, and my girlfriend Christine, who's the coolest person I know.
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. They wouldn't be overused if I knew what they were.
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. If I told you, I'd have to kill you.
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. Shape-shifting. Yeah.
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. Being the father of four fantastic kids.
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. A serious issue with organization and laundry.
- Q. What’s your best quality?
- A. An ability to see things from all sides, empathy, and an ability to make the world's best guacamole.
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. A newborn baby in a loving family -- because I'd have my whole life ahead of me, with endless possibilities.
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. My smoldering eyes, and impish grin, so I've been told.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Talon, in Downsiders.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
- A. Cassandra, in Full Tilt
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. Mozart. I'd tell him that he rocks.
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. People who don't use their turn signal.
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. I love writing music, but it seems I'm always writing words, so I don't get much time to do it.
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. Film Director
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. Honesty, compassion, intelligence.
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. General Tso's chicken.
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. "Be My Hero" by October Project, "In Your Eyes," by Peter Gabriel, "Amnesia" by Chumbawamba, "Synchronicity 2" by the Police, and anything by Genesis.
On Books and Writing
- Q. How did you come to write Downsiders?
- A. I wanted to write a story about a primitive civilization fighting for its own survival. The idea of putting that society in an unlikely place (under New York) really excited me, because it was a challenge to make something so absurd believable.
