NTMI: Hello everyone! I'm here today with Alison K, better known as slack_jawd_yokel, owner of Kiwibonk the aisha. Good evening, Alison!

Slack_jawd_yokel: Hi!

NTMI: Our first question is how did you find Neopets?

Slack_jawd_yokel: My friend Gabby told me about a really cool website where you could make pets and play with them and stuff.

NTMI: What was your initial reaction?

Slack_jawd_yokel: Cool! At first all I did was play with my pets and stuff. This was before the Neopian Times started, in an account called satlydog.

NTMI: What happened to satlydog?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I didn't like the name. It was supposed to be saltydog but I spelt it wrong.

NTMI: Ouch! So how did slack_jawd_yokel come into being?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I had so many accounts with weird names and I wanted one with a cool one.

NTMI: Is that why you chose to submit to the NT using it?

Slack_jawd_yokel: No. I couldn't remember the passwords of all my other accounts.

NTMI: Oops! Not so fine. So now that we know why you chose that account, why did you choose to submit to the NT?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I always liked writing stories, so when I heard there was a newspaper for neopets, I decided to send something in.

NTMI: What happened to your first submission?

Slack_jawd_yokel: It didn't get in.

NTMI: Ugh. How many did you send in before you finally succeeded?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I sent my first story in again, and it got published. It was called "Operation: Neopets."

NTMI: Ah HAH! So try, try again. And you've had numerous other stories in since then. How and where did you get the ideas for so many?

Slack_jawd_yokel: Some of my stories started off like a normal boring day. Then I'd just add a new character or a conflict and see where it would lead. And sometimes I write stories about aspects of Neopets I really like, like the Faeries and Terror Mountain. I really like Terror Mountain for some weird reason.

NTMI: As someone who has written Terror Mountain into both a twelve part and five part series, I'm hardly one to judge! How long does it take to write a story once you do start?

Slack_jawd_yokel: A couple days usually, but sometimes longer, as it takes me a long time to get the first couple of paragraphs.

NTMI: Anything in particular that makes it take more or less time?

Slack_jawd_yokel: Not really, unless it's a mystery, like Midnight Sun, Canapy Dream, where there's a lot of hints and foreshadowing and stuff that I had to sum up or the story won't make sense.

NTMI: And once it gets in, what sort of feedback do you get?

Slack_jawd_yokel: Usually annoying messages like, "Can I be your Neofriend? I like your stories!"

NTMI: Anything nice, any good friends out of it?

Slack_jawd_yokel: Oh yeah, sometimes there are some decent messages that offer constructive criticism, or people that give me dung. I collect dung.

NTMI: Ohhh! How many pieces so far?

Slack_jawd_yokel: 81.

NTMI: Good start! But back to writing... what would you tell someone wanting advice on getting into the Times?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I would tell them to keep trying! More often than not, your first story won't get into the Times, so just reread it and make it better or write a new story altogether!

NTMI: When you're reading the Times, what sorts of faults do you most commonly notice in stories?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I don't like analyzing the stories, I just read them. Mostly I notice things like grammar errors, really. I don't consider myself that good of an author to notice other people's mistakes.

NTMI: What's the best part about being in the Times?

Slack_jawd_yokel: The dung that people give me. And the trophies. I like to show them off to people.

NTMI: And the worst part?

Slack_jawd_yokel: The people who want to be my neofriend. I have many many many requests for neofriends and I ignore them all. Unless of course, they give me dung.

NTMI: Always a point in someone's favor! In looking over the Times, is there anything you'd like to change about how it is organized?

Slack_jawd_yokel: Well, I'd like there to be more Editorial questions.

NTMI: Have you ever sent any in yourself?

Slack_jawd_yokel: No.

NTMI: What about anything else on Neopets- anything published on the site that's yours besides the Neopian Times stories?

Slack_jawd_yokel: No, I don't think so.

NTMI: What about anywhere on the web? Any other sites out there where some of your work is posted?

Slack_jawd_yokel: No.

NTMI: What sort of goals do you have for your writing, both on and off Neopets?

Slack_jawd_yokel: I want to be a famous writer, both off and on neopets! I'd like to be as famous as J.K. Rowling and Al_the_Chia! But writing's not my first love. Acting is.

NTMI: Great, well best of luck in that, and thanks for taking the time to talk with us!

Slack_jawd_yokel: My pleasure.

Would you like to read all of Slack_jawd_yokel's stories? Just click here to check her out in our database!