Dawn: Well - it is a joke really - but a funny one. I love subversive humor.

Neal Pollack: As for the kinds of music I like, right now I'm into 60s and 70s soul and garage rock. Researching this novel, I came across all kinds of albums that simply never crossed my path before. Most of the really great music of the "Classic Rock" era never got played on the radio when I was growing up. I heard more British punk than American punk.

Dawn: You live in Texas now how do you like that?

Neal Pollack: Well, I live in Austin, which is like taking Madison, Wisconsin and dumping it in the middle of Texas. So I like it here in Austin just fine. Honestly, I haven't ventured out of the city limits since I got here, except for once to go to the lake and once to go to New York. Austin is cool, though, and it's mellowed out since the dot-com bust. I live around the corner from a 24-hour donut shop, a sno-cone hut, a breakfast tamale place, a cult video store, and a carousel-themed bar.

Dawn: I like the sounds of that. Isn't there a big music festival there every year, South by Southwest or something?

Neal Pollack: Indeed. I've been twice. We'll see what it's like as a resident. It'll probably be fun this year, but most Austinites call it South By So What?

Dawn: I bet I can guess your age within two years.

Neal Pollack: I've given a lot of hints. Go for it.

Dawn: 32

Neal Pollack: Bingo.

Dawn: I am the BOMB!!! Just a couple more questions. Okay - what is your most embarrassing moment?

Neal Pollack: Back at the very beginning of this Greatest Living Writer nonsense, I was the featured reader at a spoken-word night in Chicago, and I just totally melted down. The audience wasn't into my stuff, and I just lost my cool. Started sweating, started apologizing, and went back on everything. It was horrible. But you need a night like that before the good shows come.

Dawn: Last question - What should bloggers and blogreaders know before encountering Neal Pollack?

Neal Pollack: I'm a streetwalking cheetah with a heart full of napalm. And I'm here for you 16 hours a day.

Dawn: Wow!

Neal Pollack: Indeed.

Go to Up Yours for lots of delectable goodies.