We are thrilled to have the hilarious Jon Skovron back for #ATBF13! Jon joined us in 2009 when STRUTS & FRETS was released, and we are excited to dive in his new book, MAN MADE BOY, which is all myth and monsters.
Ms. Cobbler! Curly black hair, square glasses, a fondness for obscure vocabulary words. She was also the staff monitor for the school newspaper that a buddy of mine and I started in our conservative all boys Catholic prep school. The newspaper that got banned after the first issue because of “objectionable intellectual content”. The newspaper she helped us continue to print and distribute covertly for the rest of the year despite repeated threats from the Dean of Students.
Yeah. Ms. Cobbler was that kind of librarian. Also, I was that kind of prep school kid.
What song do you love and know you shouldn’t because it’s awful?
This is actually a really tough question because when it comes to music, I have no shame. Truly.
Sure, I’d say the staple of what I listen to is cool alt/indie rock and electronica. The kind of stuff you generally find on Pitchfork or Stereogum. My first book was all about that scene. But depending on the day and my mood, I might be listening to jazz, hip-hop, R&B, metal, pop, bluegrass, country, folk, and yes, even musical theater. Seriously, I’ve had most of the lyrics to Les Mis memorized since I was thirteen. I do a solid Colm Wilkinson impression. Not quite as good as my Tom Waits or Kermit the Frog, but pretty good.
Like I said. No shame.
What person no longer with us should come back from the dead ala Frankenstein style?
Well the beauty of bringing someone back Frankenstein style is that I don’t have to pick one person, right? We could do, I don’t know…the brain of Douglas Adams, the voice of William Shakespeare, the heart of Edgar Allen Poe and the fists of Ernest Hemingway. Or, if we wanted to make a female monster, it could be the brain of Mary Shelley (of course!), the voice of Zora Neale Hurston, the heart of Jane Austin, and the eyes of Anais Nin.
We’re just scratching the surface here, I’m sure you realize. Why, if, hypothetically, one were to travel around the world, digging up the graves of all the best writers who ever lived, and sew them all together, one might conceivably make the ultimate writer! MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
I mean, you know…hypothetically.
Who is your favorite cowboy?
Do people have those? Oh jeez. Does Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly count? No? Okay…I guess Jonah Hex, then. But not that lame movie version, the original comic book version. Or maybe Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Or Roland Deschain in Stephen King’s Dark Tower books. Or maybe Steve McQueen in The Magnificent Seven. Or…no wait, I’ve got it. Rango.
Yeah, definitely Rango.
For more information about Jon Skovron and his books, check out his website
About MAN MADE BOY:
Imagine a group of monsters who pose as a Circ de Soleil style Broadway show, passing their magical abilities off as special effects. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, sirens, medusas, minotaurs…the works. Who might be a good bouncer for such a dangerous menagerie? Well, Frankenstein’s Monster of course. Then, what if the Monster and the Bride got together and created a child of their own named…well, Boy, of course, because that’s what he is. And what if Boy grew up to be a bright, sensitive, and rebellious teenage hacker who was tired of living his whole life inside the confines of a Broadway theater? How far will he go to prove to them all, including the lead dancer girl he’s always pined for, that he’s going to be somebody important and not just the Son of Frankenstein’s Monster?
Be sure to join us on September 29th at the Austin Convention Center!