Christopher Moore

The Weekly Geeks task for this week is to focus on a favorite author. Since I've already written posts highlighting Michael Cunningham and Ron Carlson, I decided to focus on this guy:



When I saved this photo, I noticed the author had given it the same filename I was going to: "Chrisgoofy." See how we're on the same wavelength?

Anyway. I'd like to introduce you to Christopher Moore, but first let's get him an outfit more suitable to the nature of this . . .

uh . . .

blog.

Oh, for heaven's sake, Mr. Moore! Would you be serious for one minute?

Apparently not. Well, this is the author who makes me laugh more than any other I can think of, so I guess I'll have to cut him a little slack and go straight to the trivia.

1. Before becoming a published author, Christopher worked as a roofer, a grocery clerk, a hotel night auditor, an insurance broker, a waiter, a photographer, and a rock and roll DJ, all of which provide inspiration for the characters in his book.



2. For Lamb, which follows the life of Jesus's fictional best friend Biff, Moore spent 3 weeks doing research in Israel.



3. While writing, Chris likes to listen to acid jazz, ambient groove, and chilly rhythms. I'm not actually sure what this means, but he gives examples on his Myspace page.



4. His favorite book is John Steinbeck's Cannery Row.



5. Apart from John Steinbeck, his favorite authors are Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, Douglas Adams, and Shakespeare.



6. He voted for Obama.



7. His next book, Fool, is published on February 10th, 2009.



8. The first paragraph of Fool reads as follows:
   
   

   The city of San Francisco is being stalked by a huge, shaved vampyre cat named Chet, and only I, Abby Normal, emergency back-up mistress of the greater Bay Area night, and my manga-haired love monkey, Foo Dog, stand between the ravenous monster and a bloody massacre of the general public. Which isn't, like, as bad as it sounds, because the general public kind of sucks ass.



9. He just made me say the a-word on my blog. [Edit: and that's not the first paragraph of Fool, either. Anyone know what book that's from?].
   



10. Publisher's Weekly has this to say about his new book: Here's the Cliff Notes you wished you'd had for King Lear—the mad royal, his devious daughters, rhyming ghosts and a castle full of hot intrigue—in a cheeky and ribald romp that both channels and chides the Bard and “all Fate's bastards.” It's 1288, and the king's fool, Pocket, and his dimwit apprentice, Drool, set out to clean up the mess Lear has made of his kingdom, his family and his fortune—only to discover the truth about their own heritage. There's more
    murder, mayhem, mistaken identities and scene changes than you can remember, but
    bestselling Moore (You Suck) turns things on their head with an edgy 21st-century perspective that makes the story line as sharp, surly and slick as a game of Grand Theft Auto. Moore confesses he borrows from at least a dozen of the Bard's plays for this buffet of tragedy, comedy and medieval porn action. It's a manic, masterly mix—winning, wild and something today's groundlings will applaud.

I can't wait.

If you haven't read any Moore, I recommend starting with Lamb or Fluke, my two favorites. Unless you're a big fan of vampire stories, in which case you should probably start with You Suck.