Issue Three - Humor

Josh Berk

Hiya WRNers!  This month we have the funny (and somewhat deranged) Josh Berk, whose debut novel The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin debuted in February.  The book is the story of Will (a.k.a. Hamburger) Halpin, an overweight, deaf guy finding it hard to fit in at his new mainstream school.  When the star quarterback tumbles to his death in a coal mine, Hamburger teams up with the second least popular guy to solve the mystery in a not-so-Hardy-Boys manner. 

1. Hey Josh!  So, we like to start by asking everyone whatcha reading now because, well, it’s obvious isn’t it?

Obvious? I have no idea what you're talking about... But what I'm reading are a lot of parenting books. I have a three year-old and I don't think it's right that he keeps biting people... But as far as fiction? I'm part of the Tenners (YA/MG authors who debut in 2010) and I've been reading all their books. So many great ones! Currently I'm into 'Eighth-Grade Superzero' by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. It's wonderful!

2. I love stories that make me laugh!  And your book did!  A lot. Which writers make you laugh?  Who are your favorite mystery writers?

I'm glad it made you laugh! Being a funny writer is all I've wanted to be for a long time. I love funny writers! I even read books by comedians that are often quite dumb. But right now the best funny writers in my opinion are probably David Sedaris and Bill Bryson. Oh, and Kinky Friedman! Kinky is also my favorite mystery writer. He also ran for Governor of Texas, but that's not really something you asked. 

3. Will Halpin is such a likeable character as he struggles with both his weight and deafness.  There aren’t a lot of books with characters that are hearing impaired.  Are you?

I am not hearing impaired and when I started the book I knew nothing about the topic. It was a ridiculous decision to write a novel from a point of view I was so clueless about. 

Then, how did you create a believable character who lived with that condition?

I'm a librarian so research is something I really enjoy. I did conventional research (reading tons of books and articles) and I also did a lot of online research. There are lots of deaf blogs, deaf message boards, and other deaf sites that I spent a lot of time lurking on. Plus I met a few deaf folks online who were willing to answer my questions, read my early drafts, and share stories from their own lives. 

Also, some of the research was just walking around thinking "how would this situation be different if I were deaf?" Will Halpin really got in my head and I spent a lot of time just living my life, but always thinking about how Will would react to whatever was going on. So in some of the passages about what it's like to be deaf I was pretty much guessing! And it's pleased me so much when deaf readers comment on how accurate these parts seem to them. Deaf readers have been really positive about the book and it's made me verrrrrry happy! That's a lot of "r's."

4. In the beginning of the novel, the humor in Will’s head is dark and sarcastic, but as the story moves into the mystery there’s a lot of slapstick.  Which do you think is funnier?  Is one easier to write?

This is an interesting observation! I never thought of it that way. And I don't think I can say which is funnier. It all depends on the reader and/or your mood at the time. And I don't think one is necessarily easier than the other to write. I mean, slapstick is sort of easy, because you can just have someone's pants fall down and add a fart or twelve, but I spend a lot of time in my own head being dark and sarcastic, so that part came pretty naturally to me. 

5. I grew up with a guy named Devon Smiley and he was exactly like the character in your novel.  Psych!  But seriously, Devon felt like a real person.  Did you base him on an old friend?

He's based on me. In fact, my real name is Devon Smiley. Josh Berk is a pen name. Double Psych! Haha! He's not based on me or anyone else really. I'm glad he seems like a real person to you because he certainly does to me! But actually he came from plot needs. I decided early on that Will would communicate largely through texting and online chatting, but I didn't quite want the entire book to be filled with ungrammatical chat lingo. So I decided that Will's friend Devon would always use perfect grammar. It made me laugh. And it made me ask myself, "What kind of kid would use perfect grammar in a text message?" And just from that one detail Devon's whole personality sprang forth. Sometimes it happens that way! One specific detail can be the way in to create a totally realistic character.  

6. O.K.  Totally off-topic here.  Why are you smoking that enormous pipe in your picture?  Is it a weird Sherlock Holmes obsession thing?

Oh that? That's a still photo from MasterBerk Theatre. MBT is a goofy thing on my YouTube channel where I pretend to be very pretentious while reading scenes from my friends' books. I wear a corduroy jacket and clearly a giant pipe is also a useful prop for faux pretentiousness. Plus I just sort of like it. Sherlock had cool style.

7. Wasn’t that a cool segue to a mystery question?  Wait! That’s not the question.  Here’s the question:  When you started this book did you start with the mystery or did you start with the character of Will?

Good question! They came pretty much together as a package. The voice and the plot often present themselves as a package deal to me. The original idea for this book was basically "deaf narrator for a teen mystery." I couldn't imagine telling this story without Will and I never really thought of any other story for Will to tell.  

8. A coal mine is a really unusual setting—especially for YA.  How in the world did you come up with that?

I'm from Pennsylvania! You can't walk like five feet in any direction without falling into a coal mine. OK, slight exaggeration. But there are coal mines around here and I visited one just like the one in the book on a field trip when I was a kid. It stuck in my head all these years and seemed like a perfect place for a field trip where something could go terribly wrong. They really do that thing where they have you stand around in the total darkness and it immediately came to mind as a creepy and cool setting once I decided to write a mystery. 
 

9. Are you really, really a fan of the Hardy Boys?  Do you think Hamburger and Smileyman will have an entire series?

I think I have a love/hate relationship with the Hardy Boys. I like to make fun of them, but if I start reading one I can't stop until I figure it out! Which I never do, so I have to read the whole thing. I actually didn't read them very much as a kid, but I became fascinated by their shenanigans while studying the history of children's literature in library school. That's a real class! Library school was awesome. 

I feel so flattered when people ask if it will be a series! I can't think of a more flattering thing someone could say. Unless you wanted to compliment my eyes? No? Fine. I'll take the series compliment. Thanks! But no, no plans for them to have a series. I'm not ruling it out or anything! But no plans.
 

10. O.K.  Our readers love this question.  Tell us something totally random about yourself.  And, hey – make it good wouldya’?

I was a nude model in college

 

LOL2BIFTLOLIS!!!!  And, if you don’t know what that means, you’ll just have to read The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin to find out.  So, be sure to enter our contests this month because we’re giving away two—yes, that’s right TWO—copies of this hysterical book. 

In the meantime if you think Josh Berk is one funny dude, you should click here and visit WRN’s new YouTube channel.  We have the worldwide premier of Josh Berk’s Release Day video. OK, technically this is a big fat lie.  It’s been out for a while, but it sounds REALLY good, right?  Anywaaaay….we think you should check it out, because it’s got laughs, great dancing and a catchy-get-stuck-in-your-head lyrics!