Confusion Interview

Posted on by scott

About a year ago, Justine and I were guests of honor at High Voltage Confusion, a yearly convention in Detroit. As we blogged here and here, we had an incredible time and met lots of lovely people.

Our introduction to the local folks was via a long interview with blogmeister John Scalzi, best known for his crankiness at the Whatever. He asked us the usual stuff about ourselves and our work, but then we branched into a far-ranging discussion of YA. I listened to the interview recently, and it was one of those, “Huh, I was pretty smart that day” things.

It really sums up my thinking about our field, and Justine is also on song. So if you’ve got a spare, um, close to an hour(!) forty-five minutes, take a listen.

After you click here, you have to scroll down to “Teh Awesome Duo—Revealed!”

And if listening to me and Justine pontificate for that long is too much, there’s always . . . hoverboards!

164 thoughts on “Confusion Interview”

  3. Wow, that hoverbaord is cool. It does seem fun…i want one now.

    Sorry, i dont feel like listening to that for an hour although im sure its interesting! 😉

  5. Hoverboards! Well that’s a start, not quite as fantastic as they are in Uglies, but they’ll get there eventually. 🙂

  8. In my mind, that hoverboard is similar to the oh-so-obscure mode of transportation known as the segway. Personally, I prefer the hoverboards in Uglies. I’d actually like to get off the ground, as in people-look-like-ants, I-might-die-if-I-fall (without crash bracelets) high.

    Click my name, please. Readers are good, comments are better. 😀

  9. Forgot to say, I’ll try to get around to listening to the interview when it’s a little earlier in the day and I can get the computer long enough to listen to the whole thing without someone else trying to kick me off so they can use the computer.

    Click my name. This one leads to a different blog. 😀

  10. This interview began with me showing everyone in the audience, along with the first three writers I ever met a convention, my spiderman shoes. I cannot wait until this year’s Confusion. Cory’s coming. Then Wheaton’s coming to Penguicon in May.

  12. The hoverboard doesn’t actually hovers and it looks like a vacuum cleaner or a lawn mower. LOL.

    But it looks speedy enough. Maybe some day they will actually have one that really does hovers. Just like those boards in UGLIES and SPECIALS. I prefer a SPECIALS hoverboard though. 😀

  14. Ahh!!! Hoverboards and #13. Very bubbly stuff.

    As +-+miko kagome+-+ said, it does resemble a vacuum cleaner. But it’s a step closer to a real get-off-the-ground, crash-bracelet-neccessary thing.

  15. Aw.. I’m not 13. But I think I’ll go watch the interview now. I’ve got the afternoon to spare.

    Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone!

  17. Daaaaaang. How sick would it be to ride a hoverboard to school?

    Mine would be purple. With flames on the side. Everyone would be jealous.

    And yes, I think I’ll try to listen to that interview too. Sounds interesting…

    An extra for now. 😉

  18. Yeah, Trish-la, you are like almost a whole day ahead of me! I’m more on Tally&Zane’s time schedule.

    (psh, yeah I forgot, we already talked about living in California, silly me)

    An extra for now. 😉

  20. Yes, it would be really awesome to ride a hoverboard to school. Unless they stuck in some stupid safety regulation thing and you have to get a license when you are 16.

    That was a really long and really awesome interview. Especially Justine’s bit about old people saying YA is dead. I was like… they think that? For serious? And I hope that I won’t end up as those narrow readers when I grow up. Also, the things about horrible writing as a kid. I look back on what I’ve written last year and think it that the work was totally ridiculous.

    Tally&Zane, Audrey-Sensei: Doesn’t matter, I’ll wish you guy Happy New Year’s Eve again tomorrow (a.k.a. tonight)

    I’ve just realised that Tally&Zane sounded a little bit like Tarzan&Jane. Just saying, you know. like when you look at a word too long and then it just doesn’t seem right anymore. Heh.

  23. ahhhhh!!!! even though i saw that on t.v. like last week or something its 1 step closer 2 an actual scott-la hoverboard!!!!=D

  24. Happy New Year Scott-la!!!! and 2anybody who is in 2009 because of time zones!!!! my new year doesn’t come till 2morrow because its only 9:19am here. 2day i m going 2 c Marley&Me w/my Nana,aunt Lolo(lorraine),Connor(cousin),Brendan(cousin), Brianna(sister). has anybody seen it? is it any good?=D

  28. Ashley-wa : I heard it was so sad because they follow dog from time he was a puppy to the time he is put down my friends cried I didn’t see it yet though cause my moms a sucker for sad movies she always cries even at some commercials

  31. Ashley-wa: I just saw Marley and Me yeasterday. it was really sad at the end. my friends were either near to tears (like me), or laughing at the people crying (only the guys). it was a good movie.

    ~Aryll-wa

  36. ooh! i want one! hehe.

    hey is there anybody here that remembers LAST new years eve when we were all talking? that was so fun! wasnt somebody locked in there trailer or sompthing while there parents were at a new years party? maybe im confused. hehe.

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! 😀

  39. I love how scott knows exactly how to appeal to our attention spans. “You could watch this hour long interview, or… a hoverboard! yaaaaay!”

    An extra for now. 😉

  41. Scott, I am currently working on my query letter for the book I recently finished writing. I’m a little stuck and could use some help. Could you please post your query letter sometime, just as an example of what one should look like? It would be really helpful in my quest to become a published author. Thank you.

  43. Allie-wa, aren’t you always supposed to be super enthusiastic in infomercials? I mean, just look at the guys who do Oxi-Clean or the Sham-wow, or (my personal favorite) Snuggies! haha… Just think: someday, you’ll be looking at a 1-800 number for a hoverboard that is slightly less lame than the one on this thirty second clip.

    An extra for now. 😉

  44. That’s awesome! I can’t wait to watch those videos! (I have to leave..and have dial-up…But it will be wholly worth it) Hoverboards rock! Next to anything with the word ‘hover’ in it, and sneak suits in the land of Uglies, Aircraft strength teeth would be great. A video on teeth would be boring…but hey.

  47. Omg, I was reading the synopsis for Legally Blonde on iTunes, and in the description, it said the main character was “bubble-headed Elle.” I just thought that was really funny.

    Ok, off to shower, pack, and get ready for the New Year!

    An extra for now. 😉

  48. I would definitely prefer a hover board like the ones in the Uglies books (there so much cooler). The one in the video looked a little like lawn mower.
    Happy New Years everyone.
    Click my name and comment on my blog (please).

  49. hey i was wondering if anyone knew if they were going to have public casting auditions for the Uglies movie. I totally want to audition for Tally or Shay. I think i would be a good person for the role.

  50. yay! hoverboard!! i want one. now.
    happy new year to most everybody!! except for us here in california and other places in the pacific time zone…half an hour to go!!!

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