 A June 2005 interview with Dan "Knuckles" Ehrenhaft, author of 10 Things to Do Before I Die and Led Zeppelin fan.
Do you have any favorite fan stories you'd like to share?
Honestly, I'm always just so happy whenever anyone writes to me or approaches me at a reading to say that he or she has read and enjoyed my work, every single story is a favorite! A school in Chicago did base an entire extra-curricular activity on one of my books though, which was pretty cool. The kids designed games and gadgets inspired by the character of Logan in The Last Dog on Earth. (He's an inventor of sorts.) I was blown away!
If "Naomi" were to give you some advice, what would it be?
It might be time to retire the beads I've been wearing since college. I wouldn't listen to the advice, though. And to listen more. Yeah, definitely that...
What is your writing process like?
I wake up pretty early and write every morning for about 4 hours. In the afternoon I read a lot, and then I go back and revise what I wrote in the morning. I can't write at night! I'm not sure why...maybe there's some subconscious connection to the memory of homework stress...
Are you working on anything now?
Yes, I'm working on a novel for Penguin called THE AFTER LIFE, which will be published in fall 2006. I don't want to say much about it, other than it is darker and edgier than anything I've done before...but hopefully funny and warm, too. (Makes no sense, I realize...)
What book do you wish you'd written?
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut, Philip Roth, or Hunter Thompson.
What authors have had the most influence on your writing?
See above!!! :-)
Do you have any advice for young writers?
Read, read, read...as much as you possibly can, in as many different genres as you can. If you're stuck or have writer's block, crack open a novel.
What are your favorite and least favorite words?
Not a huge fan of "like." Huge fan of "flabbergasted."
I'm sure you've been asked before, but what's on your top 10 list of things to do?
1-9) Build time machine (I figure this will be multi-step process, perhaps involving even more than 9 steps) to travel back to 1972 and see Led Zeppelin at the LA Forum. 10) Play with Led Zeppelin
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