KW: Well hello, Drew. Congrats on the success of the book. Please tell my readers a little about it and where you got the idea to write about a geeky Lutheran kid growing up gay in the Midwest.
DF: The book's more "American Pie" than "Catcher in the Rye." A friend of mine once bitched that Holden from "Catcher" wasn't a believable character because he never spanked the monkey -- much less thought about it. I kind of took that as a challenge and wanted to see how far you could go in a novel about an out gay teen kid who's something of a misfit.
KW: You've said it took a few false starts and two years to write the book. Now that it's out, how are you feeling about being a novelist?
DF: Sick, nervous, frightened, scared -- someone hold me please. Actually, it's kind of fun. It's been an exciting process.
KW: Better geek: Screech or Napoleon Dynamite?
DF: Screech. Sure, it turns out that Dustin Diamond's a major ass, but let's face it: Screech was around a lot hotter guys. He stood the better chance of stumbling in on some hot Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez action. At least he did in my imagination.
KW: Who has a more vivid imagination, Charlie or James "at 15" Hunter?
DF: Tough one. What my boy Charlie imagines couldn't end up on a '70s TV show or made-for-TV movie. Course, I'm not sure it could end up on either one today.
KW: What is your daytime job? And what's next for Drew Ferguson the writer?
DF: I work in the oh-so-sexy field of financial communications -- writing boring fine print things that no one reads except lawyers and eggheads. As for what's next, I've been kicking the tires on another Charlie story. I'm kind of liking the idea of the hijinks a drinking and college-aged Charlie could get into.
KW: And finally, if Charlie James Stewart II and Band Fag Jack Paterno got into a fight, who would win?
DF: Jack'd probably kick Charlie's ass. But Charlie would more than likely deserve it. He'd probably have said something super cutting or sarcastic to Jack or better still, Jack'd probably walk in on Charlie and Jack's best friend, Brad, getting all freaky with each other.
Watch the book's trailer here:
2 comments:
I must beg to differ... Jack Paterno is a "lover, not a fighter."
If he's anything like I was in high school (and he is!), Jack would figure out SOME way to avoid a confrontation with Charlie at all costs.
Congrats again, Drew!
Thanks, Kenneth!
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