Tony DiTerlizzi: A Self Portrait
Tony DiTerlizzi Revealed
About Tony DiTerlizzi
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. A dream come true. (Did it in four!)
- Q. What is your motto or maxim?
- A. Never abandon imagination
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. Having all the time in the world to do all the things your heart desires.
- Q. What’s your greatest fear?
- A. Not living life to the fullest.
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. With my wife and daughter.
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. Arthur Rackham -- especially the insane demands and deadlines, but he was much mroe famous.
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. Kermit the frog.
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. Dude, Cool, Awesome...you'd swear I was a surfer from southern Cali, but I'm not.
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. Not holding onto my old Star Wars toys when I was a kid.
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. Time travel.
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. Being a pretty good dad.
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. I obsess over things...especially my book projects. It can be very time consuming.
- Q. What’s your best quality?
- A. I think I've got a decent imagination. I hope some of my stories inspire other young imaginations.
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. I'd love to be an astronaut. I bet you get a better understanding of our planet seeing it from a distance.
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. I'd like to think I've got a good sense of humor.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Peter Pan.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
- A. Darth Vader.
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. I would have loved to have met the late Jim Henson. His imagination and ambition really had a tremendous impact on me.
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. Dirty dishes.
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. I've been taking macro-photographs of insects for the last few years. I really enjoy examining nature at close range.
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. Rock star.
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. Sense of humor, taking your life seriously, but not yourself.
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. Breyer's mint chocolate chip ice cream. I'd be the size of a truck, but I'd be a happy truck.
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. In no order: "Golden Slumbers" by the Beatles, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, "One" by U2, and "World" by Five for Fighting
On Books and Writing
- Q. Who are your favorite authors?
- A. Sir James M. Barrie, Lewis Carroll, A.A. Milne, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, Kenneth Grahame, Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss, Jon Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo to name a few.
- Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
- A. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" "Watership Down" "The Lorax" "Peter Pan & Wendy"
- Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
- A. Watership Down...I read it every 5 years. It is so rich.
- Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
- A. Write everything that flutters into your mind - good or bad.
- Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
- A. How long have I been making books? And that would be since I was a kid in grade school. I made a book on dinosaurs, one on insects and one for a mysterious island full of fantastic creatures.
- Q. How did you come to write Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You?
- A. I made a field guide to dragons, goblins and other fantastical monsters when I was 12 years old. I never forgot about that guide, drawn in markers in a 3-ring binder, and it was the spark for the Spiderwick Field Guide.
- Q. How did you come to write Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You?
- A. I made a field guide to dragons, goblins and other fantastical monsters when I was 12 years old. I never forgot about that guide, drawn in markers in a 3-ring binder, and it was the spark for the Spiderwick Field Guide.
- Q. How did you come to write Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You?
- A. I made a field guide to dragons, goblins and other fantastical monsters when I was 12 years old. I never forgot about that guide, drawn in markers in a 3-ring binder, and it was the spark for the Spiderwick Field Guide.
- Q. How did you come to write Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You?
- A. I made a field guide to dragons, goblins and other fantastical monsters when I was 12 years old. I never forgot about that guide, drawn in markers in a 3-ring binder, and it was the spark for the Spiderwick Field Guide.
