April 22, 2004

Today is the day to put it on the air.

***ORDER MY BOOK!-NOW AVAILABLE ON POWELLS!***

Whoo-whoo! Zulkey.com is the most recent stop on Danyel Smith's Virtual Book Tour. In case you don't know, Danyel is a former editor at large for Time Inc. and the former editor in chief of Vibe. She has also written for the Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Spin, and more. Her excellent book, More Like Boxing, a story about two sisters growing up in Oakland, is available on paperback. Meanwhile, if you want to know more about Danyel and her tour, check out her Readerville discussion (if you're not a member, it's easy to sign up).

I figure that her previous stops have been giving it to her too easy, with interviews and guest blogs and so on, so I decided to give her a pop quiz, hotshot.

Please Fill in the Blank:

When I was a little kid, when I grew up I wanted to be: a writer. Next lifetime, though? I'm a chef, for sure.

Some of the main differences between being an editor and a writer (other than writing vs. editing) are: (talking about nonfiction/journalistic editing here; talking fiction writing)
1. With editing you fight another. With writing you fight yourself. 2. Editing pays more regularly.
3. Writing is heart then head work. Editing is head then heart work.
4. I get sick of editing after about two years. I don't get sick of writing. But editing does call me. I hear it ... sometimes I miss it. It's like a bad boyfriend. A bad boyfriend who's got redeeming qualities.

The hardest part about writing a book is: finishing. The hardest part about writing a book is sticking to the plot's timeline. How about the hardest part is *coming up* with the plot's timeline?

People often mispronounce my name as: "Daniel." What's that about?

I set More Like Wrestling in Oakland because: Oakland deserves it.

My usual writing schedule is: midnight to dawn for the first draft. Once I have a draft I edit manuscript pages during the day with a pen, and then enter changes/rewrite during those midnight to dawn hours. If only I actually stuck to this, I'd be done revising Book Two.

The best part of being a female music critic was: the byline! and the hardest part was: realizing I wasn't twenty-eight anymore.

Even though I'm a professional, the celebrity who still makes me weak in the knees is: Don Cheadle. No question. See "Devil in a Blue Dress." Denzel, Schemnzel.

Those who can't do, teach, and those who make up sayings about teachers: can kiss my ass. And my sister's. And my mom's. And Mrs. Walsh's and Mrs. Larson's. The last two still teach literature and writing at Catholic high schools in Southern California. I went to a Catholic high school in Southern California. My mom and sis teach at/own a preschool in Southern California. Also, I want to be a teacher. Wait a minute. I already teach. I want to be on faculty someplace, is what I meant to say. And, well, good teachers are angels. Bossy angels.

I have an MFA but no BA because: I am starting an MFA program in the fall without having a BA first because I am one lucky, hardworking devil with colleagues who look out for me.

I like having no day job but sometimes...:I wish I could put on a sleek outfit, go to an office and conduct a meeting—make a decision or two about what goes in a damn magazine. Order in a tuna and cheddar on wheat and sit with my back to the door washing my sandwich down with a tall skim almond latte while inserting questions in bold throughout the text of a promising piece of writing.

Please Fill in This Analogy:

Wrestling is to living as dancing is to: crying.

Excellent job, Danyel! A+****