You Had to Be There

~ You love them. You’ve read their books or articles. You follow them on Twitter. But how well do you know them and their wicked sense of humor? Play The Twizzy and find out. ~

Happy Monday and welcome back to another game of The Twizzy! Thank you for all your responses. Now, are you ready for Game 5?

Remember, each of you is allowed 1 guess per day.

I’ll give a recap for those of you who haven’t played yet:

In my quest to keep you all entertained, I thought up a quiz. But not just any quiz. That would be boring. This is a quiz where Twitter Stars answer 30 questions. As you’ll see, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill questions. That, too, would be boring. As far as I’m concerned, this is the first time something of this scope has been done on Twitter. If it isn’t, I’m sure someone will let me know (but I won’t believe them).

Originally it was just to be the published authors I interact with but this plan grew and grew. Everyone I asked said yes! So what you have here is a lovely mix of writers – from New York Times Bestselling authors to newly published ones. From sportswriters to freelance journalists. I didn’t stop there though. I asked literary agents and editors, and then it extended to all aspects of publishing – from business development to public relations. I’ve even been lucky enough to snag one British celebrity.

Below is the list of the participants with their Twitter bio and handles. While you go through, you may consider following them, and buying their books or newspapers. These people are awesome, truly. As busy as they are, they took time out to play “The Twizzy” and they answered the questions with such flair that I was laughing each time a new email came in.

Once you’ve gone through the list, take a look at the question and answer session below. You will laugh. The questions will be the same every Monday. Your job is to figure out who from the list answered the questions that week. Include your guess in the comments section here on my blog. I will not post your comments until the winner has been announced. This is because I want you to guess on your own. If by Thursday there is still no correct answer, I’ll give 1 hint. The first correct answer wins a prize. Yes, a prize. They consist of: An Uncommon History of Common Things co-written and donated by Bethanne Patrick (while supplies last), Seven Souls A Leaping co-written and donated by Kellyann Zuzulo (while supplies last), 1 copy of How to Sew a Button written and donated by Erin Bried, 1 copy of How to Build a Fire written and donated by Erin Bried, $15 Barnes & Noble gift cards (with 1 donated by the wonderful Kellyann Zuzulo), and Starry, Starry Nights or Macaroons that I’ll buy from Gesine Confectionary (www.gesine.com). You will have until Friday to guess. Then I will reveal The Twizzy Star of the Week. If you’re not on Twitter, you can still play because you’ve likely read their books or articles, and, as the weeks go on, the list will narrow.

If you have any questions, Tweet me at www.Twitter.com/SunnySoCal and please use “#TheTwizzy” in your question.

Have fun and good luck!

~ Denise

The Twizzy Stars List for Game 5

Nichole Bernier @NicholeBernier: Writer (Conde Nast Traveler) & mother of 5 trafficking in humor, Twizzlers, occasionally wisdom. Novel THE UNFINISHED WORK OF ELIZABETH D, Crown/RH 2012.

http://www.nicholebernier.com

Erin Bried @NiftyButton: Mod girl looking back. Pie baker, storyteller, collector of old timey wisdom. Author of How to Build a Fire & Sew a Button (Ballantine). Self mag staff writer.

http://erinbried.com/

 

Veronica Brooks-Sigler @getlit_erate: Bookseller/Social Medium for Maple Street Book Shops. Author. I’m only back because I can’t keep my mouth shut for too long.

http://www.brookssigler.com

Gesine Bullock-Prado @closetmastrbakr: Pastry chef, owner Gesine Confectionary & author of Confections of a Closet Master Baker/My Life from Scratch and Sugar Baby.

http://www.gesine.com

 

Pete Caldera @pcaldera: Bergen Record Yankees beat writer/occasional band vocalist with the Stan Rubin Orchestra.

www.northjersey.com And http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/pinstripeposts

Marc Carig @ledger_yankees: Real-time coverage of the New York Yankees by The Star-Ledger and NJ.com

www.nj.com And http://carig.wordpress.com

 

Brenda Copeland @BrendaCopeland: executive editor, teacher, reader, friend, cheese lover

Catherine Delors @CatherineDelors: Writer, historical fiction (For the King, Mistress of the Revolution.) Loves Paris, history and the 18th century.

 

 

Mark Feinsand @BloggingBombers: The Yankees beat writer for the New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/yankees

Jenny Gardiner @jennygardiner: Author of Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who’s Determined to Kill Me, & Slim to None. Also a laugh ho.

 

http://www.jennygardiner.net/blog/

Jennifer Gilmore @jenwgilmore: Author of the new novel Something Red, and the NYTimes Notable novel, Golden Country.

http://jennifergilmore.net/

 

Jane Heller @janeheller1: Novelist, Screenwriter, Blogger, Author of Confessions of a She-Fan, Yankees diehard, movies/books fan, pop culture maven

http://www.janeheller.com

Sean Kennedy @slicksean: Writer/journalist/media consultant. Tweets are 20% each: current affairs/culture; writing/media; LGBT topics; food/food systems; personal.

http://www.sean-kennedy.com/

Ann Leary @annleary: Author of OUTTAKES FROM A MARRIAGE and An INNOCENT, A BROAD

http://www.annleary.com/

Holly LeCraw @HollyLeCraw : Writer, reader, southerner far from home. My first novel, The Swimming Pool, is out in paperback from Doubleday this April.

http://hollylecraw.com/

Colleen Lindsay @colleenlindsay: Publishing browncoat. Cat herder. Queer human. Professional nerd. TARDIS fan. Athlete’s foot survivor. Part of Penguin Group (USA) Business Development team.

http://theswivet.com

 

 

Georgia McBride @Georgia_McBride: YA author of the PRAEFATIO series. Represented by Mark McVeigh of The McVeigh Agency. Founder of #YAlitchat. Mom to 2 humans + 3 Chihuahuas. Hopeless Romantic.

 

www.georgiamcbride.com

Susan Orlean @susanorlean: Writer, writer, writer. Oh, I also write.

www.susanorlean.com

 

Karen Palmer @karen_palmer: Writer, editor, teacher. If I had to choose between reading and eating I’d be dead in a week.

 

www.karenpalmer.com

David Pomerico @DelReySpectra: Del Rey and Spectra are two of the biggest SF, fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance imprints in–and out of–the world.

http://www.bantamspectra.net

 

Elana Roth @elanaroth: Brooklynite, children’s book agent, Squarespace support-team member, semi-pro Jew, bourbon drinker. I work for lots of people. None of these tweets are theirs.

www.elanaroth.com

Brett Sandusky @bsandusky: digital publishing professional | innovator | strategist | marketer | writer | going to change the world

 

http://brettlikesstuff.tumblr.com/

Drew Sarver @mypinstripes : Database Developer, Blogger, BaseballDigest.com writer, Beagle lover, Husband

Kathleen Schmidt @bookgirl96: A bookish broad, PR superhero, mother of two, lover of sports, and wife of @Rockpappa.

http://kathleenschmidt.tumblr.com

 

Jayne Sharp-Vitty @jaynesharp: Mummy, wife, voice over & telly gal x

 

http://andsowtobed.blogspot.com

Alyssa Smith @booksandcorsets: Editor, reviewer, convention organizer, avid costumer, and owner of several demanding parrots. Non-official feed. Tweets about her interests: cooking, sewing

 

 

 

Laura Strachan @StrachanLit: literary agent representing literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. Loves books, art, theatre — compelling stories, well told.

 

www.strachanlit.com

Joe Wallace @joe_wallace: I’m a writer of nonfiction books, noir stories, and a novel, DIAMOND RUBY.

www.josephwallace.com

 

 

Allison Winn-Scotch @aswinn: Novelist, NY Times best seller (yeah, I had to get that in), celeb profiler, diaper changer, dog walker, ass-kicker, pop culture junkie, superwoman.

 

www.allisonwinn.com

Laura Zigman @laurazigman: Writer, branter, complainer, mom, recovering publicist.

http://laurazigman.wordpress.com/

Kellyann Zuzulo @kfzuzulo: Former journalist, author of tales, word laborer, stirrer of soup.

www.kfzuzulo.com

The Twizzy – Game 5

1.      How hard was it to break into your line of work? Do you enjoy it?

hard to break into? yes and no. i’ve done a lot of different things in this industry; one thing always led to another even cooler opportunity. or, ya know, a LAYOFF. but do i love what i do? hells, yes. it’s why i keep coming back to this industry. so i can get kicked in the pants by it over and over again.

2.      Have you any advice for people who would also like to do your line of work?

never get laid off with the word “director” in your title.
3.      Are you known by any nicknames?

yes, but they are unprintable and NSFW.

4.      What song’s your tearjerker?

chris pureka’s “burning bridges” – slays me every time.

5.      Do you like capers?

like with masked crime fighters? or those squishy round things they sneak into salads and tuna? for the former, yes. for the latter, no.

6.      Any food you must have?

dark chocolate, coffee, good pizza

7.      Pet?

two, both incorrigible and both bulimic. on the plus side, they are very good at snatching flying insects out of mid-air.

8.      How do you feel about the word “carbuncle”?

ewwwww. i don’t even know what that is and it sounds nasty. is it like capers?

9.     Favorite stroll?

love walking around the west village in new york city and petting all the dogs tied to parking meters while their owners are at brunch. (also, if you own a dog, don’t take them to brunch with you and then make them sit outside for two hours. that’s just rude.)

10.  Most embarrassing memory?

walking around paris in 1989 with the back of my skirt tucked into my panty hose. walked like that for a mile and didn’t notice until i sat on a cold marble bench. oops!

11.  Biggest pet peeve?

people who are late for appointments. specifically, people who are late to appointments with ME. i don’t care so much about people who are late to appointments with YOU.

12.  Who would you like to meet (in any time period)?

charles dickens, mark twain, jane goodall

13.  Who bugs the crap out of you?

whomever invented Uggs.

14.  Favorite book?

Les Miserables and Oliver Twist.

15.  Do songs by Nickelback make you want to stuff hot pokers in your ears?

not really. i like singing along to nickelback songs when i drive rental cars. chad kroeger’s voice is kind of awesome, even if the damned songs are overplayed like WHOA. now NICKEL CREEK songs make me want to shove hot pokers in my ears.

16.  Favorite movie?

just one? silence of the lambs. second favorite: local hero

17.  Is marmite the singular form of marmosets? More importantly, does marmite make you want to vomit?

can you spread marmosets on toast?

18.  Favorite quote?

“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — Lewis Carroll

19.  Favorite swear word?

bugger. also? wanker. i’m starting a campaign to get wanker reintroduced as a living word in the united states. WHO’S WITH ME???

20.  How do you feel about capybaras?

are they cuter than marmosets? and can you train them to use a litter box? do they like capers?

21.  Guilty pleasure?

eating cereal for dinner. also? Amazing Race.

22.  Favorite character?

Jean Valjean from Les Miserables. Also, Eustacia Vye from Return of the Native.

23.  Do people who say “sammich” make you want to kick them in the crotch?

not unless they put capers on that sammich. or they are eating that sammich in front of a dog that’s been tied up outside their brunch place for two hours.

24.  Which character would win this smackdown: Peter Venkman, Jack Donaghy, Stay Puft, Dwight Shrute, George Costanza, Basil Fawlty, Mortimer Brewster, Hyacinth Bucket, Mr. Whipple, or the Maytag Repairman?

Jack Donaghy

25.  Phobias?

roaches. also, see #28.

26.  How do feel about cheese? Be specific.

i would marry cheese if it would have me. especially st. nectaire and epoisse. and blue castello. and smoked gouda. and stilton. so it would be a kind of polygamist arrangement, clearly. one where i would occasionally invite fig jam into bed with us.

27.  Which 1980’s comedy film is this from: “Where’s the rest of this moose?”

Arthur! (***Note from Denise: YAY!!!***)

28.  Foods you refuse to eat?

chipped beef on toast (gag) and any kind of gelatinous food. food should not move of it’s own volition. who the fuck thought jello was ever a good idea?

29.  Where do you stand on Justin Bieber?

preferably on top of his pointy little head.

*Bonus*
Finish this quote from a 1980’s comedy: “Generally you don’t see that kind of behavior in

A MAJOR APPLIANCE! (ghostbusters!)

________________ Past Twizzy Stars ____________________

***The lovely Bethanne Patrick was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 1. You can find and follow her at @thebookmaven.  http://bookmavenmedia.com/

Bethanne is responsible for #fridayreads on Twitter and the Friday Reads Facebook page. By all means, stop by every Friday and share what you’re reading.

***The charming Caroline Leavitt was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 2. You can find and follow her at @leavittnovelist. http://www.carolineleavitt.com/home.htm

Caroline has been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 2 weeks in a row now with her book PICTURES OF YOU. Why not buy it today?

***The hilarious Wallace Matthews was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 3. You can find and follow him at @ESPNNYYankees . http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees

Wallace is the Yankees Beat Writer for ESPN New York.

***The adorable Julie Klam was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 4. You can find and follow her at @julieklam . http://www.julieklam.com/

Julie is the New York Times Bestselling Author of You Had Me At Woof: How Dogs Taught Me The Secrets of Happiness and Please Excuse My Daughter (Riverhead)

 

They are no longer choices for the remaining games.

________________