Hank Early's Would You Rather

Bored with the same old fashioned author interviews you see all around the blogosphere? Well, TNBBC's got a fun, literary spin on the ole Would You Rather game. Get to know the authors we love to read in ways no other interviewer has. I've asked them to pick sides against the same 20 odd bookish scenarios.

Hank Early's

Would You Rather

Would you rather start every sentence in your book with ‘And’ or end every sentence with ‘but’?

Goodness. I guess I'd go wth but. Might be a little more challenging and therefore more interesting? I guess?

Would you rather write in an isolated cabin that was infested with spiders or in a noisy coffee shop with bad musak?

Noisy coffee shop. No contest. I actually like background noise when I write. And I despise spiders.

Would you rather think in a language you could understand but write in one you couldn’t read, or think in a language you couldn’t understand but write in one you could read?

The second one. Wait, no, that would suck. Gotta go with the first one. Because if you can't think, you can't do anything, right?

Would you rather write the best book of your career and never publish it or publish a bunch of books that leave you feeling unsatisfied?

Well, I think authors do the second all the time, so I'll take that one. I can't imagine anything more torturous than writing a perfect book and having no one read it.

Would you rather have everything you think automatically appear on your Twitter feed or have a voice in your head narrate your every move?

I'd rather have the voice in my head. We could all do with less twitter and more voices in our heads.

Would you rather your books be bound and covered with human skin or made out of tissue paper?

Tissue paper. I don't even want to think about the other ones. Shiver. (yes, I do write scary stories, but that doesn't mean I can handle grossness).

Would you rather read naked in front of a packed room or have no one show up to your reading?

I already suffer from social anxiety, so I'm fine with the second option.

Would you rather your book incite the world’s largest riot or be used as tinder in everyone’s fireplace?

This is a tough one. I'd say riot as long as the riot sparked a positive change in the world. If not, tinder, baby.

Would you rather give up your computer or pens and paper?

What are pens and paper?

Would you rather have every word of your favorite novel tattooed on your skin or always playing as an audio in the background for the rest of your life?

So, I hate needles, but I think the audio would be worse. I'll take the tattoo.

Would you rather meet your favorite author and have them turn out to be a total jerkwad or hate a book written by an author you are really close to?

Both have happened. Sort of. But I'd rather the first happen.

Would you rather your book have an awesome title with a really ugly cover or an awesome cover with a really bad title?

I think covers sell books. So, I'd take the second.

Would you rather write beautiful prose with no point or write the perfect story badly?

This is every author's dilemma, no? As much as I love the beautiful prose, I've got to have the story. Story is the point, after all. At least for me.

Would you rather write only embarrassingly truthful essays or write nothing at all?

I'm good with embarrassment. I'm not good with not writing.

Would you rather your book become an instant best seller that burns out quickly and is forgotten forever or be met with mediocre criticism but continue to sell well after you’re gone?

Hey, I'll take the bestseller. I can always make the next one a critical darling!

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Hank Early spent much of his youth in the mountains of North Georgia, but he never held a snake or got struck by lightning.  Heaven's Crooked Finger (Nov. 7, 2017; Crooked Lane Books) is his first novel. He holds a Masters in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has been a middle school teacher in central Alabama for nearly 20 years. Hank Early is the pen name for horror author John Mantooth, whose novel The Year of the Storm was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.  The author enjoys a good beer, strong coffee and wild storms. He’s married and has two kids who are constantly giving him ideas for his next novel.