Hey, look! It’s me!
Is that how you thought I’d look? Well, I don’t always look that way — you know, like I’m posing for a picture. Sometimes I look like I’m ordering a pizza or catching a frisbee or playing checkers with a llama. OK, I’ve never actually played checkers with a llama, but someday I hope to. It sounds fun. Plus, I’d probably win. Unless it was a really smart llama. I hope if I ever lose at checkers to a llama that nobody’s there to take a picture of it. That would be embarrassing.
Usually, though, I look like this:
That’s me doing my favorite thing, writing books. Sometimes, when I’m writing books, I look like this:
And after a while of that, hopefully, I look like this:
I always say that I write the kind of books I would’ve wanted to read as a kid. Books that make you laugh out loud, where you never know what’s going to happen next, with long, wacky titles and the kinds of characters you don’t get to read about a lot. Oddballs, outcasts, kids who don’t realize how cool and funny and awesome they are.
That’s what I was like. I was a strange kid.
Now I’m a strange grown-up. Most of my favorite writers are strange grown-ups, so I don’t mind. Also, when you get to be a grown-up, you realize that people who fit in with the crowd are usually pretty dull. It’s the ones who stand out who you want to hang around with — and read about, for that matter. So I hope you’ll hang around here, check out my goony books and maybe send me a message and say hi. I’m guessing if you’ve read this far that you’re probably pretty cool, too.
Now, just for fun, here are some quick facts about me. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, just ask!
Birthdate: May 18, 1971
Hometown: Matawan, NJ
Current residence: Burbank, CA
Family: my husband Drew and my twin kids — son Bennett and daughter Sutton
Favorite color: royal blue
Favorite writers (for kids): Tom Angleberger, Judy Blume, Mo Willems, Lemony Snicket, J.K. Rowling
Favorite writer (for adults): David Sedaris
Favorite fictional character: Huckleberry Finn (runner-up: Huckleberry Hound)
Favorite book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Favorite kids’ books: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Favorite TV shows: Simpsons, Freaks & Geeks, Survivor, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Favorite video games: Any Mario Kart or Ratchet & Clank game
Favorite movies: North by Northwest, Heathers, E.T., Bon Voyage Charlie Brown
Favorite musical artists: Howard Jones, Pet Shop Boys
Favorite animal: porcupine
Favorite school subject: math
Favorite place to visit: London
Favorite ice cream flavor: mint chocolate chip
Favorite list: this one
Jerry Mahoney 