Exclusive chat with "Weird Websites" author
| Published: 4th September 2007 18:33 |
Jessica, 26, lives in Edmonton in North London with her partner Damien. She works on the picture desk for World Entertainment News Network and is currently in the process of planning more book ideas.
Q: So where did you get your inspiration from for the book?
A: What actually started off as light relief and a distraction from everyday life actually turned into a viable book idea. I would receive numerous emails from friends and family telling me to visit a particular website and it really just grew from there. I would think up unusual subjects and nine times out of ten a website about that topic would exist.
Q: If you had to pick a favourite weird website from your book what would it be?
A: I have so many favourites it would be difficult to pick just one but I have to say my favourites are usually the rude ones! It's also tricky to say which weird ones are my favourite because what is weird to me is perfectly normal for the next person. For example the Butt Art website (http://www.buttprintart.com/) where the guy uses his "cheeks" to create art is one of my favourite. He has appeared on TV before but always wears disguises so that he is not recognised.
Q: How long did it take you to research and write your book?
A: The actual research element took me about three months - and to put together probably another 3 months. It was tricky because some of the sites I initially found did not exist when I came back to refer to them again to write my book, so I actually came up with much more than 500 Weird websites and then had to edit the book.
Q: Do you have a favourite "normal" website? (apart from AboutMyArea of course!)
A: My favourite non-weird website is www.ment2excel.com
Q: So, what do you think makes a great weird website?
A: It boils down to a number of factors depending on personal preference. The sites where the hosts are really serious about a topic and its readers may find the subject matter amusing above all else. Examples are the site which collects business cards and puts them on his site for people to view. Others just have weird sites as a joke or to entertain or have as a shock value.
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