The Random 5…Steven Luna Edition

*waves* Hello, my Hipster friends! Welcome to the 2nd edition of “The Random 5…”, a spot in which I sit down with writers (or people I deem awesome enough to interview) and ask them five random questions.

Today’s guest…Mr. Steven Luna!

I met Steven (or Luna as I’ve started calling him for some strange, odd reason…probably because Steven seems so formal) last April on the Twitter (@JoeVampireBlog) through a mutual friend Ben Wallace (@BenMWallace). Steven seemed like a pretty cool guy and if he was friends with Ben, even better!, I gave him a chance and started talking to him. AND he had quite a way of selling his book JOE VAMPIRE to me…he promised that if I hadn’t read it by a certain date, he would tweet me the whole book…line by line! That’s 140 characters per Tweet…JOE VAMPIRE has a lot of characters. 😉 And because I’m such a nice person and didn’t want his fingers to fall off from Tweeting me the whole book (as tempting as it was to see if he’d actually do it *giggle*), I bought it and read it…in 2 days time! I was impressed…it was great!!! From that moment on, it has been my life’s goal (ok, maybe not my only life’s goal) to make him uber famous. Yes…UBER famous!

Since then, Steven has introduced me to a whole world of independent authors and writing…and blogs. I likened him to a drug dealer of books in a previous post and I don’t think he really liked that, so we’ll just say he a great matchmaker…does that work? He has introduced me to a bunch of great people and their works and in turn those people have introduced me to other people and their works…lather, rinse, repeat. I’ve become part of this whole literary world without even realizing it and it feels pretty awesome! So awesome that I started a blog about it. Ha! And I have him to thank for that. Him and JOE. 😉

As if finding a fun new friend wasn’t enough…whilst reading JOE VAMPIRE, I was made privy to the fact that JOE 2 was in the works. Somehow, I managed to weasel my way into getting my hands on and reading it. My first official “Top Secret” book…squeeeee!!! It was AWESOME! And what’s cool is it was still not completely edited, so as I found things here and there, I’d let him know so he could correct it. I felt official, yo. So official, that I found that I quite enjoyed it. Hear that? I enjoyed doing some editing…um…weird, right? Anyway…so…JOE 2: Electric Boogaloo (ok, it isn’t REALLY called that, but I like it!) is in production, so you’ll want to keep your eyes open for when that happens cause I’m gonna promo the shit out of it! Be warned!!!

Also, I apparently made a good impression with Sir Luna because after reading JOE and JOE 2, he decided to interview me for his blog as his first ever “Reader Spotlight” I’ve got it linked to the side right over there <———- or you can click here to read it! Check it out! He throws me some curveballs that I needed to really think hard about. And you get to learn a little bit more about me. 😉 AND he has officially added me to his list of “Other Tellers”…look!!!

Look! I’m in there…along with some other really awesome people!!! Thank you, Luna!!!

If you’d like to learn MORE about Steven, you can find him on his Website , Twitter , Facebook , and Goodreads. To check out his book, JOE VAMPIRE, you can go to either Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com or Booktrope.com

Now, I think that about covers my part of this post, so…off to Steven’s “The Random 5…”

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1 – What does it feel like to finally have “Joe Vampire” in paper form?  Honestly, it feels like I’ve accomplished something that I started an entire lifetime ago. I feel like I can finally relax, like whatever it was that I’ve always thought I should be doing instead of chilling out is done now. It’s like a dream has come true in three dimensions. Yup…that’s what Joe in paper feels like to me. Smells like that, too.

Look! It’s a book! A real, live book! All papery and everything! I’ve said from the start…uber famous! BOOM!

2 – Have you always been able to raise your eyebrow like that? or was it something you had to practice in the mirror over and over until it magically happened one day? 

Exhibit A: The eyebrow of destiny!

Exhibit B: Excuse me, I mustache you a question…about your…er…um…eyebrow.

Exhibit C: It isn’t as high here, but I couldn’t resist posting the “duck face” picture…bwhahahaha!

Exhibit D: Oh wait…that isn’t you…

Ha!  I was told by a friend once, “Some people wear their heart on their sleeve; you wear your whole everything all over your face.” I’m pretty sure I’ve always mugged naturally, and it all starts with the eyebrows. If you ever play poker with me, count on winning; I have no poker face.

No one beats her Poker Face…not even you, Luna.

Any other hidden “talents” you posses? As for other hidden talents (which aren’t so hidden): I play music by ear (Wait, you play music with your ear???) , I’m a self-taught visual artist,

Superdude! – 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas

I seriously love this one…LOVE! And I have a hard time believing you are self taught at this…I’d give my right arm to be this talented…oh wait…I’m right handed, that wouldn’t work too well.

and I can stick toothpicks up my nose without using my hands. I’m like a party unto myself…which, sadly enough, is how it usually happens. (*shudder* I don’t even want to know the toothpick/nose party trick…ewwwww…)

 3 – All the candy in the world has disappeared. *gasp* What is the one candy that Steven Luna has managed to stockpile and keep hidden away for his (and possibly his family’s) own consumption?  What a cruel, unlikely thought…it chills my blood. But I’ll play along here. Biggest portion of the stash would be devoted to Junior Mints and York Peppermint Patties – nature’s perfect foods, I’d say.  (If you eat your Peppermint Patties like this guy…you can have every single one out there! *fans self* Hey! He did the eyebrow thing too!!!)

Hot Tamales are next on the list – regular heat, not the kind that burn the skin off of your tongue…those are moments when candy enjoyment turns hateful and tragic. Then? Skittles, traditional mix. Berries are nice, but let’s save them for smoothies and pies, okay?  Last, I’d gather up whatever dark chocolate I could find that wasn’t so dark as to taste like raw beans. A note to Ghirardelli: candy is supposed to be, above all else, SWEET.  When you take out 98% of the sugar and leave behind all the underlying cocoa-fied bitterness, you’re cruising for bankruptcy.     

Nasty chocolate makes the Oompa Loompas want to sing a song.

4 – Do you remember the first time you said BOOM? And why do you keep saying it? (Don’t worry, I’m not complaining…)

Awww…it is a cute BOOM!

You’d probably remember the first time YOU said it easier than I will. (Nope, don’t remember) I actually do not recall when, but I do know exactly where I got it from: An episode of The Office, where Michael Scott asks to be roasted…then gets his feelings hurt by everyone’s comments. He leaves for a while and comes back with insults for everyone, each delivered with a  “BOOM. Roasted.” at the end.

The Office, huh? Oh wait…you mean the other version.

I started using that comment with some friends at work and it just stuck. I’m pretty sure Aziz Ansari’s character Tom Haverford on Parks and Recreation uses it, too; he’s hilariously cheesy, and I totally dig his delivery.  So it’s probably a combination of those that keeps me lovin’ the BOOM.  Recently I’ve added KaBOOM and BLAM, as well as several other comic book-sanctioned sound effects, just to round out the collection. I like to keep things fresh in my world. BOOM.    

Here is a small selection I found for you to look through.

5 – What did you have for lunch today? Was it tasty?  Lunch was a handful of delicious Red Vines…but don’t tell Junior Mints; they tend to get jealous. Like, a LOT.

I love Google…I cannot make this stuff up! Red Vine Kim Kardashian!!! Eat up, Luna! Ha ha ha!!!

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Well, that concludes my 2nd edition of “The Random 5…”. I hope you’ve learned a little bit more about my candy addicted friend Steven Luna and go check out JOE VAMPIRE. It is a great read and well worth picking up either in e-book or paper…or both! Plus, we want to make sure that Steven becomes uber famous, like I told him he would when we first met. 😉

Look at this face…doesn’t it just scream “Uber famous writer”??? Seriously.

Until next time, Hipsters…BOOM!