Weekly Geeks #24: All About Carl

This week's WG challenge: fun facts about authors!

How to:

1. Choose a writer you like.

2. Using resources such as Wikipedia, the author’s website, whatever you can find, make a list of interesting facts about the author.

3. Post your fun facts list in your blog, maybe with a photo of the writer, a collage of his or her books, whatever you want.

4. Come sign the Mr Linky below with the url to your fun facts post.

5. As you run into (or deliberately seek out) other Weekly Geeks’ lists, add links to your post for authors you like or authors you think your readers are interested in.

I picked Carl Hiaasen.
I was introduced to him last year, when the 7th grade class in which I was student teaching read Hoot. It was pretty much love at first page. So far, I've only read his two YA novels (Hoot and Flush), but I acquired a copy of Sick Puppy thanks to BookCrossing and have added it to my continuously growing TBR pile. Fun facts about Hiaasen:

1. He was born and raised in Florida, and writes regularly for the Miami Herald. Florida has been the setting for the majority of his novels.

2. His books include:
* 12 fiction novels (one of which was a collaboration with 13 other authors)
* 4 non-fiction novels
* 3 YA novels (Scat is available for preorder now!)
* one short story, "Tart of Darkness," which was published in an issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition
* 3 novels co-written with fellow journalist Bill Montalbano inspired by their own reporting experiences
* 2 collections of his Miami Herald columns. Whew!

3. Although his novels are usually filed as "Mystery/Thriller," they generally deal with the environment and Big Business trying to destroy the natural beauty of Florida. As Wikipedia puts it, "Hiaasen's Florida is a hive of greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, dumb blondes, apathetic retirees, intellectually challenged tourists, hard-luck redneck cooters, and militant ecoteurs. It is the same Florida of John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee, but aged another 20 years and viewed with a more satiric or sardonic eye."

4. Two of Hiaasen's books have been made into movies: Hoot and, amazingly, Striptease. I wish I were kidding.



(I would have a Striptease trailer here, just for comparison's sake, but searching "Demi Moore Striptease trailer" in YouTube is surprisingly unhelpful.)

5. Another one of his novels, Lucky You, has been made into a play with music by Loudon Wainwright III, father of Rufus and frequent Judd Apatow collaborator:



Other authors from my fellow Weekly Geeks:
Christopher Moore by Ali
Neil Gaiman by Softdrink
Sarah Dessen by alisonwonderland
Anne Bronte by Lynda
Dean Koontz by Naida
George Eliot by Chris
Dr. Seuss by Belle
Homer by Rebecca
Markus Zusak and John Green by Suey
Michael Chabon by Florinda
Roald Dahl by Jessica