Interview with Brandon Mull

Quick Start

SS: How would you describe your life in only 8 words?

BM: Books Family Friends Conversation Food Ninjas Pie Awesome

SS: What is your motto or maxim?

BM: Dream and then scheme; Don't bore people; You reap what you sew

What Readers want to know...

SS: How would you describe perfect happiness?

BM: I love being with my friends and famile. I've always liked Disneyland, and I enjoy seeing it through the eyes of my kids. I like rich food like brownie sundaes and lobster and steak topped with bleu cheese. I enjoy laughing and making others laugh. My perfect happiness would be some combination of those things.

SS: What’s your greatest fear?

BM: Being chased by the glowing head of a nun (happened in a dream)

SS: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?

BM: On a Mediterranean cruise (I've never been to Europe)

SS: With whom in history do you most identify?

BM: Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the throne of Gondor (he was real, I know it, just like how I know we would have been best friends)

SS: Which living person do you most admire?

BM: My grandpa Cy, a former WWII fighter pilot

SS: What are your most overused words or phrases?

BM: Awesome, save it, stop hitting me

SS: What do you regret most?

BM: Not being more careful with my fact-checking when I wrote The Candy Shop War

SS: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?

BM: Ninjutsu

SS: What is your greatest achievement?

BM: Winning a pudding eating contest in the park behind my grandma's house

SS: What’s your greatest flaw?

BM: I'm scatterbrained and disorganized

SS: What’s your best quality?

BM: I married well

SS: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?

BM: Myself, but slightly more muscular

SS: What trait is most noticeable about you?

BM: My piercing gaze

SS: Who is your favorite fictional hero?

BM: I sure like Frodo

SS: Who is your favorite fictional villain?

BM: At three years old at a drive-in movie, Darth Vader freaked me out so much that I still remember it

SS: If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?

BM: I would meet Aragorn, son or Arathorn, and with tears gleaming in my eyes, I would say, "I regret that I have but one life to give for Gondor."

SS: What is your biggest pet peeve?

BM: Death

SS: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?

BM: Answering questions about myself

SS: What’s your fantasy profession?

BM: My fantasy profession and my real profession is writing fantasy stories

SS: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?

BM: Faith, love, honor

SS: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?

BM: Warm bread with cheese (doesn't sound fancy, but it would take a long time for me to get sick of it)

SS: What are your 5 favorite songs?

BM: this is too hard, "Samson" by Regina Spektor is pretty, I like some Killers and Cake and Police and They Might Be Giants and The Smiths and U2 and stuff

Questions About Books and Writing

SS: Who are your favorite authors?

BM: Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Orson Scott Card, J.K. Rowling, J.D. Salinger, Hemingway, Frank Herbert, Neil Gaiman, Ayn Rand, George R.R. Martin, and so on and so forth

SS: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?

BM: Today I'll say: LOTR, Dune, Ender's Game, The Fountainhead, Holes

SS: Is there a book you love to reread?

BM: Of all fictional books, I've read Lord of the Rings and Where the Red Fern Grows the most

SS: Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?

BM: Let your voice shine, find the music that only you can hear

SS: What comment do you hear most often from your readers?

BM: The Fablehaven books get better as the series goes on

General Questions

SS: What is your birthdate?

BM: 11/8

SS: What were your previous occupations?

BM: Comedian, filing clerk, patio installer, movie promoter, copy writer, chicken stacker

SS: What was/is your favorite job?

BM: Writing fiction

SS: Where did you go to high school and/or college?

BM: High school was Pomperaug in Connecticut and Westlake in California, college was BYU

SS: Name of your favorite composer or music artist?

BM: Kara Thrace and her Special Destiny

SS: What is your favorite movie?

BM: Lord of the Rings, I can't help it

SS: What is your favorite television show?

BM: Lately? Lost

Get more on Brandon Mull at SimonandSchuster.com