I think that’s what distinguishes YA from adult fiction – it’s not just the age of the characters, but it’s the sense of hope. Because I don’t think I’ve ever read a YA book that feels completely hopeless at the end.
I’d been wanting to try a YA novel for years because I saw how exciting the genre was and how amazing, hungry, and curious the readers were.
I didn’t plan to write YA – I had a story that simply wasn’t working as a straight-up fantasy novel.
You don’t say hello to Mr. DeNiro? Show the respect, will ya?
There’s so many other things that I can do with my time besides just worry about what the next man is doing, ya feel me?
I love to sing some Beyonce – ya know, like ‘All the Single Ladies.’ I’ll sing that – maybe not with the body shakin’ – but I’ll have a little bit of the hand movement going on.
The Shades never recorded anything, Little Daddy and the Bachelors recorded a couple of records, ya.
Plot is a framework on which to drape other things. So once that’s working, I can just let it go and do all the stuff that I love – ‘Trojan horse’ it. There are so many great YA heroines, and that’s fantastic, but what about the emotionally complex boy out there? That’s who I tend to write about.
I’ve been like this forever. I’m sweeter, probably, but me and my homegirls were a little buckwild, ya know? And it only got worse.
And I tell ya, when I sit in that sound booth and started reading the script and starting to get into the character, man, it’s an easy jump for me, because I understand what it’s all about.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like if somebody from outer space landed with three heads. Then all of a sudden everybody else wouldn’t look so bad, huh? Well, OK you’re a little different from me but, hey, ya got one head.
I liked the sort of YA classics. I loved ‘The Chronicles of Narnia.’ I loved ‘The Chronicles of Prydain’ by Lloyd Alexander, who is amazing. Basically, ‘Chronicles of’ – I was in.
One of the interesting things about YA books – I don’t know about Percy Jackson, but I do know about ‘Twilight’ and ‘Maximum Ride’: There are a lot of adult readers. In fact, we released ‘Maximum Ride’ both as a paperback for kids and as a mass release for adults.
But, Eminem… No, I’ve loved rap for a long time, especially when it got out of its first period and became this gangsta rap, ya know this heavy rap thing? That’s when I started to fall in love with it. I loved the lyrics. I loved the beat.
If I wanted your opinion, I’d slap it outta ya.
I guess a good song is a good song is a good song, ya know.
I think that YA stories have a lot of heart, and I think that whatever age we are, we connect to them because we sort of see ourselves in them.
In terms of age, I think I’ve covered about as wide a range as is possible, having written everything from picture books to early chapter books to middle grade novels to YA to one adult novel – and having been editor and lead writer for a magazine for retired people!
Of course YA authors have a responsibility to their audience.
Get Ya Mind Right,’ when you play that it’s a club banger.
I look up to Jimmy Fallon. He hosts talk shows as a fan himself, and that’s how I do it. When the celebrities come in, I’m excited that they’re there. It’s not just like a formal, ‘Hey, how are ya?’ It’s like, ‘Dude, what the hell! So happy to see you!’ That’s what Jimmy Fallon does every time.
I’m not a gay-basher, because gay people buy my records. Why would I be offended by your sexual preference, unless I’m in the closet? If ya like boys, go get all the boys ya want.
People say a lot of things in the heat of the moment. But in the entertainment business, ya never say never.
I do a bit called, ‘You go, girl!’ where I say, ‘Don’t tell me ‘You go, girl!’ I get it. I don’t need you encourage me.’ And nine times out of 10 after I finish the bit, some guy in the back will yell ‘You go, girl!’ I get a lot of that or ‘I hear ya!’ I don’t generally – knock on fake wood – get mean heckling.
I don’t play chess with my life, ya’ know.
I watch a lot of teen TV and read a lot of YA novels. I also talk to teens whenever I can. There are cultural differences between when I was a teen and now, but emotions – anger, angst, love – are the same.
I’ll tell ya this: I come from an educated family. My father was an attorney representing blue collar workers, and my uncle was a chemical engineer… on my mom’s side, all my uncles were engineers – all ten of them.
And there had to be a dagger thrust in the heart of the left to tell them that you are no longer gonna give five years for a Smith Act prosecution or one year for Contempt of Court, but we’re gonna kill ya!
I’ve always wanted to be a part of that experience of writing to an audience that is just starting to fall in love with books. When I felt that my writing for adults had become cemented, I decided to write a YA series.
When I left WWE, TNA offered me a deal. It was a sweet deal: ya sit at home the majority of the year. Just show up every now and then and make some money. That was a sweet deal for me; that was like a vacation.
I’d like to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair.
My decision is that ‘Mr. Ya Miss’ will be my last film with Factory. I don’t want to spend more time with something which I don’t want to do.
It’s liberating to wear clothes that are outside the boundaries of what I’m supposed to wear, ya know, based on the traditional model, whether that be a country music singer, or being from the country. It’s not a rebellious thing.
In my work at ‘Entertainment Weekly,’ I had written reviews and news stories about YA books and film franchises and was always moved by how smart and voracious and loyal the readers were. Everything we did got lots of attention and reaction.
I never felt ready to have a baby until I was about 37 years old. I knew I always wanted kids someday, but I needed to be ‘ready,’ ya know?
When I was growing up, there actually wasn’t a lot of YA literature as it exists today. Most of the YA that I read was from the ’60s and ’70s, older than me.
One of the things that defines YA is a really strong narrative. Adults love YA because, at the end of the day, they’re good stories and page-turners. The other element is emotion. The teen years are a very emotional and intense time, and I think it’s a time we that we can all relate to and remember.
But ya know what, I am a part of something that happened. I’m a part of the music that happened. My voice is one more instrument, is what it is. So that’s the way I feel about people who play on sessions.
When I was young, there was no such thing as YA. You simply went from reading children’s novels to reading adult novels. So one year, I was reading Tove Jansson, and the next year, I was reading Stephen King.
‘I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’ has to be one of the most ridiculous hit singles that any international superstars have given the world.
YA readers are just not rigid about genre. They’re all for the mash-up.
Ya gotta think positive.
I really only respect the Arab culture. I ain’t really trying to pay no attention to, ya know, these little people in political positions and executive positions that ain’t Arab culture oriented people because a lot of the times, what are you really showing all of this concern for?
I didn’t consciously make the decision to write an adult novel. I didn’t think of it as my riposte to the YA genre.
Ya know what’s fun? When Democrats start calling each other sexist.
I think ‘Holler If Ya Hear Me’ is almost ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ 50 years later, with just a different 20-year-old voice speaking the words. But it’s about access to the American dream and equal lives having equal value in America. It’s still holding a mirror up to us so we can see ourselves.
What I write, if you have to label it, is crossover, and I think that much of the stuff that is called children’s or YA is in fact crossover and is equally valid for anyone who likes to read fantasy.
I love YA, and it’s been a really good fit for me. But at some point, I would like to try something else: a collection of short stories, or writing about something other than high school. A lot has happened to me since I was eighteen.
Paige is someone who is very close to me – ya know, outside of the ring – she helped me when I first got to NXT.
I don’t think Jack Nicholson has ever called me Stephen. He’s like, ‘Hey, Dorff. How are ya?’
It’s funny, we started writing chick-lit when it was just becoming a crowded marketplace, and now the same thing is happening with YA. It really used to just be one shelf at the library – Nancy Drew and Judy Blume.
When I first started out acting, I didn’t have anything to lose. I had another career. If I fell on my face, I could say, ‘I’ll see ya,’ and go back to working.
I talk to people who are musicians, and they go, Oh this is hell. And I go, Are you kidding me? You never put tar paper on a roof, did ya?
People say, ‘He doesn’t want to be a spokesperson for the gay community.’ I do, of course I do, but I want to be a spokesperson for everyone. Ya know, straight people, gay people, bisexual. I don’t want it to be limited.
I read YA novels constantly, so I really want to be in a young adult rom-com, but I worry that I’m aging into the parent role, which is a little scary.
I play a lot of football, but let me tell ya, I am nowhere near as good as Jamie Tartt. I wish that I could play football like he does.
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