Thursday, December 29, 2011

Daniel Nayeri Interview and Giveaway Hop!


A big welcome to Daniel Nayeri, co-author of Another Faust and Another Pan and author of Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow!

Are there any other art forms that inspire you when you are writing? Do you listen to music, look at art pieces for ideas or watch dance and gymnastics?

That's a great question. Yes. I have about three songs I pick for each story I write, and I listen to them on repeat--one song at a time. So basically, for a month, I'll only listen to one of the songs on repeat, something close to 500 times. I've always enjoyed hearing things in repetition. It creates a rhythm that I can zone-out to.

What is your biggest and hardest to ignore distraction? How do you cope with it?

My day job. As an editor, I spend all day reading brilliant authors and working with insanely talented illustrators. First of all, they're incredibly intimidating. Second, I could easily take a dozen manuscripts home every night and forget to eat dinner. I try to keep the worlds separate, however. I'd rather spend longer at the office reading manuscripts than bring them home. I wake every morning and write my own stuff for a couple hours before I head off to work. That way my mind is still blank. I also try to read a lot of books that other houses publish (especially graphic novels and adult fiction), so I can keep up, and so I'm not always reading in one category.
All that said, I'm constantly on stimulation overload. The other distraction is video games. I play everything on every system (Dark Souls and Gears 3 right now with a side of Dungeon Defenders and Fifa), so I limit myself to an hour a night and weekends.

Is there one piece of advice you wish someone would have given you before you started writing?

Everything other than sitting down and writing sentences is the literary equivalent of a diet fad. Sit down and write. That's all there is.

Do you write in or out of sequence? What part of your novel comes first? What comes last?

Completely in sequence, beginning to end. I outline as well, so I know where it's going.

How do you choose your main character? What about perspective? Do you tend to write in third or choose the character telling the story based off of part of your plot?

I often develop the story I'd like to tell first. Sometimes, I'll think of a world, and then I'll think of the person who would be least capable of dealing with that world. Or similarly, if I have a plot in mind, I'll look the person who is most averse or uniquely disadvantaged. I start there. I think of the biggest hurdles I can think of, without going for the easy ones like "a blind visionary," or a "writer who can't think of anything to write."

When you are reading, what makes a character compelling to you? Is it the same aspects that make a character you are writing compelling?

All my favorites characters are a little tweaked, a little obsessed. I like people who're wildly successful or wildly broken or wildly uncomfortable or wildly hard to deal with. But all a little wild. Characters like Johnny Ringo and Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone, Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Ignatius Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces, Don Quixote, Philip Marlowe, Yotsuba, Queequeg, you get the idea. People who are completely not-with-program. I like that. I like to write those types as well.

AND we are adding in a giveaway to celebrate the upcoming New Year! 

To win a $20 Giftcard to your choice of Amazon, Barnes&Noble or The Book Depository comment on this blog post telling us which of the following short story trailers is your favorite! These are the four stories featured in Daniel Nayeri's Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow!









A big thank you to Daniel Nayeri for joining us and to everyone reading! As always, you are what makes blogging so special!

116 comments:

  1. The second one was my favorite- that was just cool! leccalave (at) yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Second one, definitely. We had to make those in physics once...but with not nearly so dangerous results!!

    starving4books(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like two also. Like the mousetrap game... with a tackle.

    littleangel_mw at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I loved the second one! SO COOL!

    ccfioriole at gmail dot com

    GFC Christina Kit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I liked the last one, it was funny in a weird way lol, all of these are really cool though!

    aprilxu2222@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Last on was my favorite, but all of them are awesome!
    GFC: Valette M.
    pomegranatesunrise(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awesome giveaway!
    chandayoder@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh wow, these are all insanely cool. I loved the second one because it hints at a truly dark story - and the title Wish Police makes me drool. :) Great interview with Daniel - I love his writing and have long wished he were my editor! :)

    clpurtill@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Man! They were all SO GOOD! But since I'm partial to death ;) I vote for trailer #4!
    mdcwrites@gmail.com

    M.D. Christie
    http://mdchristie.com
    http://mdchristie.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wood House was my fave, thanks for sharing and the invite and the giveaway!!
    bynumjenny@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Brickhouse I liked it the best....good luck with the writing and thanks for the GW lisapeters at yahoo dot com Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  13. My favorite was the last one. It was funny and weird at the same time.
    Thanks for the chance to win such a great prize! <^_^>

    reneebennett35 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  14. the 3rd one, totally!
    kymberleeburksmiller@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Omg,they are all seriously sooooo goood! If I have to pick, it is between the first one and the third one...ummm...I'll go with the third one because it seems most vague and I really want to know what it is about. :)

    Catchingashootingstar(at)hotmail(dot)ca

    ReplyDelete
  16. I enjoy the third one too, it seems the most professional :P

    ReplyDelete
  17. WOW!! If I win the gift card I'm getting me this, and even if I don't, I'm still getting this! It looks awesome!! I loved all 4 trailers, but my fav one is "Death Gets A Bad Rap" (Blow - book 4). Thanks for this awesome giveaway!! :D
    angievzyl@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Second one for sure!!! All four were very well done. Kudos! grholton@comcast.net

    ReplyDelete
  19. The second one!
    pokergrl8 at gmail.com
    thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. The second one was my favorite as well. Love how one thing affected the next and so on. Very cool.
    rrgreene62(at)gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love the second one best:)
    twilight.hp.obsessed@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh, great interview & love the entry options. I liked the second one the best!
    Dedezoomsalot @ yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. They all creep me out but the second one is the best! I wonder what he wished for?!
    delivery.RN at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  24. I like the second one makes me want to think what was his birthday wish...

    ReplyDelete
  25. I liked them all, but the 3rd one was my favorite.


    cablegoblue (at) charter (dot) net.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I liked the second one the best!

    bradsells2@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. I liked them all but something about #4 just made me love it! Thanks for the awesome giveaway:)

    jwitt33 at live dot com

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh they all offer something different, but I like the humor in the 4th one. Poor death!

    - Jessica @ Book Sake booksake(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I think I must be a bit twisted. I really liked the birthday police but Death getting a bad rap is the BEST!

    tigerblossoms at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  30. All of them were good but i'd have to go with the second one.

    bookflamereviews at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  31. Tough choice here,but I have to choose Death Gets a Bad Rap - it made me chuckle, although #1 made me want to read more about the story. Thank you for the fun :)
    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  32. Okay, I don't know what any of them have to do with the book. The first one was very cool, but I died laughing at the humor in the last one! So number 4. Absolutely!!

    Heather
    hrose2931(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  33. I liked the fist one the best. But the second is really awesome too! :)

    Thanks for the chance!

    Sabina
    sabina(dot)dezman(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Wow! The first one blew me away and is my favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I liked the trailer for Wish Police best - especially the Rube Goldberg arrow launcher - but my favorite read was Our Lady of Villains. Hard to choose though!

    ReplyDelete
  36. i enjoyed the second one!!

    yankeedragon4 at gmail dotcom

    ReplyDelete
  37. The fourth one, no doubt!

    Armand Rosamilia

    armandrosamilia@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  38. THe second one looked the best. Thank you

    candieluster(at)gmail(Dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  39. I've gotta go with the second one! Most entertaining! :) Thanks for the giveaway!

    booksoverboys at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  40. I liked all the trailers, but four was my favorite. Thanks!

    Stephanie

    thaliansmhc at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  41. The First one was my favorite :) thank you!

    swtlilangel4jc at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  42. the last one ! :D
    thank you!
    animalprints2000@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. I love the second trailer! It's the best of them all!

    aikychien at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  44. The second one!! They were all really good and it was between the second and last but Ill go with the second.

    natcleary(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  45. The third one totally creeped me out. Got to love that. Who hangs a Teddy Bear????

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  46. I think the fourth one was the best of all.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I love the second one!!!

    mc.jay.jay(at)hotmail(dot)com

    - juhina

    ReplyDelete
  48. The third one was my favorite.

    Darlene
    dar_reilley@yahoo.com
    http://www.darwrites.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  49. Socond one, very freaky, makes you want to watch!!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Definitely the second one!

    Happy New Year!

    JHS
    Colloquium

    jhsmail at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
  51. The second one but they were all interestng.
    amantedeborah@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  52. I like Wood House the best! What a cool entry option.

    Happy New Year!

    GFC- Michelle Adams

    chelle2006[@]aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  53. Wood House was my favorite.

    gfc follower
    Cathy m
    caity_mack@yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  54. Well, I prefer the third one. Love the dog!

    ruthaw_1974@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  55. The second one is my favorite out of the four.
    emilymeimei204 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  56. I like the second one.

    dl(dot)love(dot)freedom(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  57. Awesome giveaway! :)
    The third one was my favorite, i love dogs.

    nazarenevescruz@gmail.com

    Isabel

    ReplyDelete
  58. Wood House is definitely my favorite of them all. It has my vote! :)

    sambella10@hotmail.co.uk

    A great interview, too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  59. Doom with a View, definitely. I loved them all, but this one is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Different and interesting choices...Number 2 (Birthday wish) would be my first!
    Thank you for the opportunity and Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  61. I really liked the second trailer best!

    Great giveaway!!

    kindlemom1 at hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  62. The second one was the best..


    shellierb69@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  63. I prefer the second one with the first one coming in a close second.

    blogbaby(at)comcast(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  64. The second one! We've tried making one before but never worked out like we wanted, and they werent as dangerous.

    itslovelysheild @ yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  65. I liked them all but I think I liked the last one the best!

    queentasha97 (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  66. I liked Wish Police best.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  67. i'll have to say the second one was my fav

    bab3z_azn_bab3z@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  68. The last one. It cracked me up! :D
    thunter_5@yahoo.com
    Thank you and Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  69. I liked the third trailer!

    celjla212 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  70. The first one was interesting, but I liked the fourth one best because it was a double pun.
    yslibrarygirl@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  71. I loved the 2nd one!
    ncprincess96@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  72. I liked the first one best. It really intrigued me and makes me want to read the book. The other ones are a little campy in my opinion.

    :) (a_breen87@yahoodotcom)

    ReplyDelete
  73. The second one is my favourite for several reasons:

    1) it must have been so cool, building this line with balloons and candies :-)
    2) I am intrigued by the premise of the story! Looks like an exciting and original story!

    Thank you for the giveaway!

    stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  74. I liked the second one best. It was great.

    Thanks for an awesome giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  75. I like the second one.

    GFC: Crisa
    crisa_itgirl@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  76. My favorite was the first one, actually. but they were all good!!

    gfc= Meghan Page
    meghan_L_P at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  77. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  78. I'm a fan of trailer #3. rockchick531@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  79. I really liked the second one and the fourth one...but my favorite has to be the fourth one, it was really funny! :)

    veronicam46(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  80. The first 3 were deliciously creepy, but I loved the last one. I'm still laughing!!

    widsfam7 @ digis dot net

    ReplyDelete
  81. I really enjoyed #2. Although #4 was also pretty funny.

    thanks.
    gfc jennifer

    jlkalman26 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  82. I really liked the third one, so eerily creepy. :) but I enjoyed all of them ^^ thanks for sharing!

    Wdebo:)

    electricalbookcafe@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  83. I really liked the first one. THanks for the giveaway.

    cwyant3497@gmail.com

    GFC- cwyant3497

    ReplyDelete
  84. The 2nd one is the most unsettling so that is my choice, but they really are all good.
    stuff4joyce@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  85. I like the first & second ones. They're creepy & intriguing. Thanks for the giveaway! Gloria

    geschumann at live dot com

    ReplyDelete
  86. i liked the second one best!
    heather
    heatheranya at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  87. All the trailers were good, but #4 was the best overall! Love the grim reaper, hehe!

    GFC follower robertsongena

    Thank you for the awesome giveaway chance!

    Happy New Year!

    Gena Robertson
    robertsongena@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  88. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  89. The second one was definitely my favorite!
    cigam9 (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  90. I have to say I like the second on the best, it was pretty cool. I like the premise behind the video!

    unabridgedbookshelf(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  91. My favorite was the Brick House Video (2). I have this book staring me in the face waiting to be read. After seeing those promos, I need to get to it soon.

    leyser73 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  92. The second one was the best.

    longkimberly15@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  93. The second one was my favorite too funny
    helldog3 at aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  94. i liekd the second one and the last one the most aweosme interview and posta nd ty for the chance

    mortalsinn(At)yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  95. I liked the second the most
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  96. I liked the third one most.
    angelacisco79 (at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  97. WOW all of them are really good! But i'd have to say I liked the 2nd one the best :)

    Rabiah
    iliveforreading AT hotmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  98. the third one jacqui odell momofthreelittleangels@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  99. My favorite was the second video.

    GFC = Juana Esparza

    jmesparza821(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  100. Love the second one!
    lexie.bookbug at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  101. I really like the third one best! Thank you very much
    for the great giveaway! Happy new Year too you!
    GFC follower-latishajean
    tishajean@ charter.net

    ReplyDelete
  102. WOW!! I really liked all of them but I liked the second and 4th one probably although I loved the voice over on the first one!
    e(dot)baker219(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  103. I love the second one, and the fourth was my next favorite.

    the imagine tree at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  104. oohh i definitely like the second one the best :D

    penelope.plessas@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  105. The second on :)
    GFC follower: June M.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  106. The 2nd one is my favorite

    annettekz2@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  107. wow, they were all pretty good.
    The first was...unexpected? I thought something was going to happen, but not that.
    The second...freaky, twisted.
    The third had an eerie vibe to it.
    The last one was kind of funny.
    One or two were my favs. Great job!
    zenfoxflowerATyahooDOTcom
    thanks for the fun!

    ReplyDelete
  108. I liked them all, but my favorite is the 1st one.

    Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  109. Blow was my favorite.
    (\___/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
    http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  110. the second one
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  111. I love the second one. Thanks for the giveaway.Please enter me. Tore923@aol.com

    ReplyDelete