Q: Heavy Metal. You. Discuss.
A: I first got into heavier music when I was around twelve and started listening to Nine Inch Nails, which then moved on to Rob Zombie, Slayer, and so on. I was always attracted to heavy metal because it was frighteningly honest: when a metal band wrote a song about being angry, it was diabolically so; when a band wanted to be sad, it was utterly sorrowful. I became strongly focused on the scene and everything surrounding it at age fourteen, when I got my first Slayer album, "South of Heaven." That album says it all, man—it's dark, vengeful, and beautiful. It taught me a lot about how one presents themselves to the world and how one manages to overcome obstacles. From then on, metal became my soundtrack for everything from relationships to career options. So basically, heavy metal made me the wonderful well-rounded person I am today.

Q: One of the things I love about the book is that while it's so full of Heavy Metal, you don't really need to know anything about the music to love the story. At its heart, it's really about friendship and about what happens when the girl you want isn't into the things you want to do. Where did that idea come from?
A: That's something which has always been an issue for me. Heavy metal's the background, sure, but the emotional aspects of the book are really what SHOULD be in the foreground. I've fallen for one girl too many who's wanted some variation of who I am and only that. It eats you alive. I think that in the end, no matter who you are, those connections you make with people are what are truly important. When you're a teenager, they get trivialized, considered less important than "real life" romance or friendship—which is, of course, bullshit. If anything, because it's a time in your life when you're so susceptible to personal change, adolescent emotional troubles are just as if not MORE important than grown-up ones.

Q: What role has music played in your writing?
A: The role of the unbiased support, basically. Metal's extreme honesty and utter intensity always gave me a certain level of fulfillment. So many genres of music just feel limp and tired, going through the motions. Heavy metal music IS energy—it awakens something primal and organic in a person which they all too often deny because of their feelings of propriety and professionalism. At the same time, in its more outlandish parts—the Satanic lyrics, the huge stage shows, the crazy spiked costumes—metal allows me to see that everything should be taken with a grain of salt. Listening to metal allows me to understand myself in a very down-to-earth way, while at the same time pampering my love for the dramatic and giving me a sense of humor.

Q: What are your favorite bands?
A: Oh, man...well, my favorite band is Slayer. I think they're just the best band on Earth, and basically put most other musicians to shame with how downright great they are all around. I love Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Pantera, Emperor, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Kreator, Machine Head, The Crown, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dimmu Borgir, Motorhead, Satyricon, Cradle Of Filth, Nile, Immortal, Deicide, Testament (Bay Area thrash is my favorite form of metal), High On Fire, Soilwork, Megadeth, Slipknot, this Finnish band named the Babylon Whores, this Swedish band named Darkane...way too many metal bands to mention. Outside of metal, I love the Misfits, Johnny Cash, anything written by Stephen Sondheim, Portishead, Fiona Apple, the Residents, the Sounds, the Smashing Pumpkins...basically any music that has real energetic substance to it. I hate bands like Coldplay or Dashboard Confessional, who sound like people making music who aren't serious about it. I don't mind slow or happy music, so long as it has a lot of feeling to it.

Q: What are your favorite bands?
A: Don't tell anyone, but I have a Gothic horror fetish. Shelley, Stoker, Poe—I love 'em all. My favorite horror writer is H.P. Lovecraft, 'cause he's so damn weird. Otherwise...wow, this is tough. I love Chuck Klosterman's style and Christopher Moore's sense of humor. Both of them are brilliant. I'm also a short story addict, so Nathan Englander's "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges" and Stacey Richter's "My Date With Satan" are pretty far up there in my rankings. In the YA realm, I'd say Chris Wooding, Billy Merrell, and Brian James—they're three of the writers out there who I feel like really have something to say to kids these days (I mean, me too, but whatever). Otherwise, I love comic book writers like Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Mike Mignola...Oh yeah, and I love "Catcher In The Rye." Yeah, I know.

Q: You are no stranger to PUSH — you've been with us in one way or another from the start, which is pretty cool. What was the PUSH Writing Internship like?
A: Oh, man, it was really intimidating. It's one thing to know you're in the same imprint as some amazing authors, and it's another when you've spoken to the authors enough to feel like a Philistine! I had a great time, though. Everyone at Scholastic was really nice to me and did everything they could to help with the writing/editing process. Plus, any excuse to shmooze with the vivacious Kirsten Kemp is a good one.

Q: You had a childhood that was just outside New York City, then plunged in for your adolescence — what was that like?
A: GREAT! No, really, it was great! I grew up in Hoboken, so the City was always at my disposal, but I was happy to chill in Jersey. Once I hit adolescence, though, all I wanted was to go out with my friends, party all night, go to metal shows, get in trouble—and New York is, of course, all about that! Hoboken gave me the down-to-earth upbringing that a lot of my friends missed out on, but New York gave me the culture that I needed growing up (I went to grade school in the Village, which is why I think I missed out on the whole teenage homophobia thing). I couldn't wish for a better upbringing.

Q: Have your friends read the book? What do they think?
A: Some of them have. Most of them are incredibly supportive, though some claim their representation in the book is "sensationalized." More often than not, they're just amazed I wrote a book—though I have gotten, "Man, of all the things to write a book on...metal?"

Q: What are you working on now?
A: Well, my second novel is done and on its way through the publishing process; the third one is getting done, and is tentatively titled "The Right Kind Of Eyes." I'm also doing some work writing stuff for movies, though I'm not sure how much I can say about that (somewhere, somehow, my agent is watching...shhh!...did you hear that?). Basically, I'm writing. Oh, yeah, and surviving the next two years of college. THAT's gonna' be a barrel of friggin' monkeys.

Q: Do you fear the reaper?
A: Nah! Y'see, the seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun, and the rain (and we can be like they are)...