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. I’m glad you’re all enjoying it so much.

Are you ready for Game 21? 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: Seven Souls A Leaping co-written and donated by Kellyann Zuzulo (while supplies last), $15 Barnes & Noble gift cards (with 1 donated by the wonderful Kellyann Zuzulo), or a surprise hardcover book from my grab bag of goodies from Alyssa Smith. 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 21 (Please scroll to the bottom of this page for a list and biography of previous Twizzy Stars. Believe me, I’ve hit the jackpot. They’ve all been AWESOME! Check them and their answers out!)

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

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

Ken Davidoff @kendavidoff: National baseball writer for Newday

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ken-davidoff-s-baseball-insider-1.1278117

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

http://versaillesandmore.com

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/

Glenn Giangrande @glenngiangrande: Four-time Emmy recipient, YESNetwork.com personality, on-air talent. Views expressed here are my own & do not reflect the views of YES or YESNetwork.com.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=538658980&ref=profile

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

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/

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

Richard Oliver @RichOliver: Session singer: Chris Moyles Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 1 is my favourite job. TV ads I adore as they pay loads & if you need a KICK ASS band, let me know!

http://www.richardoliver.biz

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

Jerome Priesler @YankeesInk: New York Times bestselling novelist and regular contributor to YESNetwork.com.

http://www.yankeesink.com

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

http://mypinstripes.blogspot.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 Zigman @laurazigman: Writer, branter, complainer, mom, recovering publicist.

http://laurazigman.wordpress.com/

The Twizzy – Game 21

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

Quite difficult, but it’s been well worth it. I love what I do (most of the time, anyway).

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

Be patient, think outside the box and don’t hesitate to ask for help from people that might be able to help you. A lot of times, it’s who you know that counts as much as what you know.

3. Are you known by any nicknames?

Sandy has become a popular one among some of my colleagues, though only in the past five or six years. Prior to that, I didn’t really have one.

4. What song’s your tearjerker?

No songs really move me to tears, though I do have a bunch of sappy stuff on my iPod.

5. Do you like capers?

Only in certain things like steak tartare or veal piccata.

6. Any food you must have?

No, though bagels are probably the closest to a must-have for me. Does caffeine count?

7. Pet?

My son has a fish.

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

Indifferent. Sounds like a drunk trying to say Garfunkel.

9. Favorite stroll?

The streets of Seattle.

10. Most embarrassing memory?

Knocking over a table on stage during a ninth-grade play.

11. Biggest pet peeve?

People that don’t know how to use apostrophes. Few things irritate me more.

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

Tough one. I’ll go with John Belushi. Hanging out with him must have been a lot of fun.

13. Who bugs the crap out of you?

People that just don’t pay attention. 

14. Favorite book?

Friday Night Lights. As great as the TV show is, the book is about a thousand times better.

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

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I actually kind of like them. Not to the point where I buy their music, but I don’t change the station when they’re on the radio.  (***Note from Denise: We’re going to need to talk…***)

16. Favorite movie?

Picking one is too tough. Goodfellas, A Few Good Men, Godfather, Gladiator and Dark Knight are all contenders. I guess if I had to pick one, it would be A Few Good Men.

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

Marmite is disgusting. My college roommate spent a semester in Australia and came back with the stuff. Just gross.

18. Favorite quote?

“Melodrama’s so much fun, in black and white for everyone to see.” – Billy Joel, Zanzibar

19. Favorite swear word?

The F Bomb (only because douche isn’t technically a swear word)

20. How do you feel about capybaras?

Indifferent. Though I did have a pet hamster when I was a kid, and they remind me of hamsters on steroids.

21. Guilty pleasure?

Reality TV, though not the really trashy stuff. Survivor, Big Brother, American Idol. Things like that.

22. Favorite character?

Norm Peterson

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

That might be a little extreme, but it’s certainly annoying.

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?

I’ll have to go with Jack Donaghy. He’d just find a way. He always does.

25. Phobias?

Ornithophobia. 

26. How do feel about cheese? Be specific.

Love. I probably should have added that in the “must-have” category. Cheese pretty much makes everything better. Swiss is my favorite.

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

Arthur

28. Foods you refuse to eat?

Kasha Varnishkes

29. Where do you stand on Justin Bieber?

I have been largely indifferent when it comes to Bieber. But I recently attended a taping of Letterman and he did the Top 10 list, and he was kind of funny. I won’t listen to his music, but I respect him a little more now. 

*Bonus*

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

A major appliance. Man, I love Bill Murray. (***Note from Denise: You are just too awesome for words.***)

________________ 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)

***The fabulous Colleen Lindsay was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 5. You can find and follow her at @colleenlindsay http://theswivet.com

Colleen is a former literary agent who is currently part of the Business Development team at Penguin Group (USA).

***The wonderful Veronica Brooks-Sigler was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 6. You can find and follow her at @getlit_erate http://www.brookssigler.com

Veronica is the author of Five Finger Fiction. She is working on a sequel. Yay!

***The witty Brett Sandusky was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 7. You can find and follow him at @bsandusky and http://brettlikesstuff.tumblr.com/

Brett is a digital publishing professional, innovator, strategist, marketer and writer.

***The funny Elana Roth was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 8. You can find and follow her at @ElanaRoth and http://www.elanaroth.com

Elana is a literary agent at the Caren Johnson Literary Agency. She’s also second-to-none in quoting Ghostbusters.

***The delightful Gesine Bullock-Prado was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 9. You can find and follow her at @closetmastrbakr and http://www.gesine.com

Gesine is a pastry chef, the owner of Gesine Confectionary, and author of Confections of a Closet Master Baker/My Life from Scratch and the recent Sugar Baby.

***The captivating Laura Strachan was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 10. You can find and follow her at @StrachanLit and www.strachanlit.com

Laura is my literary agent. She represents literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. She loves books, art, theatre — compelling stories, well told.

***The talented Joe Wallace was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 11. You can find and follow him at www.josephwallace.com @joe_wallace

Joe is an author of nonfiction books, noir stories, and a novel, DIAMOND RUBY.

***The sweet Kellyann Zuzulo was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 12. You can find and follow her at www.kfzuzulo.com @kfzuzulo

Kellyann is a former journalist, author of tales, word laborer, stirrer of soup.

***The brilliant Bob Klapisch was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 13. You can find and follow him at http://www.northjersey.com/sports/pro_sports/baseball/klapisch/ and http://msn.foxsports.com/writer/Bob_Klapisch @BobKlap

Bob is a baseball columnist for The Bergen Record and foxsports.com

***The new mommy Erin Bried was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 14. You can find and follow her at http://erinbried.com/ @NiftyButton

Erin is a pie baker, storyteller, collector of old timey wisdom. Author of How to Build a Fire & Sew a Button (Ballantine). Self mag staff writer.

***The dear Sean Kennedy was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 15. You can find and follow him at http://www.sean-kennedy.com/ @slicksean

Sean is a Writer/journalist/media consultant. His Tweets are 20% each: current affairs/culture; writing/media; LGBT topics; food/food systems; personal.

***The darling Pete Caldera was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 16. You can find and follow him at: www.northjersey.com And http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/pinstripeposts and @pcaldera

Pete is the Bergen Record Yankees beat writer and an occasional band vocalist with the Stan Rubin Orchestra.

***The fantastic David Pomerico was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 17. You can find and follow him at  http://www.bantamspectra.net   and @DelReySpectra

David is an editor at Del Rey and Spectra, two of the biggest SF, fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance imprints in–and out of–the world.

***The sweet Jennifer Gilmore was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 18. You can find and follow her at  http://jennifergilmore.net/   and  @jenwgilmore

Jennifer is the author of the new novel Something Red, and the NYTimes Notable novel, Golden Country.

***The talented Allison Winn-Scotch was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Week 19. You can find and follow her at www.allisonwinn.com  and @aswinn

Allison is a novelist, NY Times best seller (yeah, I had to get that in), celeb profiler, diaper changer, dog walker, ass-kicker, pop culture junkie, superwoman.

***The clever Kathleen Schmidt was The Twizzy Star of the Week for Game 20. You can find and follow her at   http://kathleenschmidt.tumblr.com  @bookgirl96

Kathleen is a bookish broad, PR superhero, mother of two, lover of sports, and wife of @Rockpappa.

They are no longer choices for the remaining games of The Twizzy.

________________