BEST AUTHOR BEST : JASON MOTT

He thinks ''Lord of the Flies'' is underrated and Cormac McCarthy's last novels are overrated - but can see Nicolas Cage in '' Blood Meridian. ''

''People Like Us '' is his follow-up to the prizewinning '' Hell of a Book.''

.-  What books are on your night stand?

'' Catch-22 '' and the collected edition of Alan Moore's '' Swamp Thing '' run for DC comics.

.-  What book has had the greatest impact on you?

Either '' Lord of the Flies '' or '' Grendel.''

.-  What's the last great book you read?

'' A Different Drummer,'' by William Melvin Kelley. It's the story of a fictional county in the South in which all its Black residents suddenly pick up and leave without any explanation.

Its tone and technique could easily be defined as magical realism and, obviously given the themes of '' People Like Us,'' it was both encouraging and saddening to realize how long this style of fiction has been used to explore the idea of leaving a land that perpetually tells that you are not equally a part of its being or destiny.

.-  What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

Nearly anything written in the last five or 10 years. I won't say I'm embarrassed about it but it makes talking shop with other writers and readers pretty tough sometimes.

.-  Disappointing, overrated, just not good : What book did you feel as if you were supposed to like, and didn't?

Cormac McCarthy's last two books. I'm a huge McCarthy fan. Many critics swooned over '' The Passenger '' and '' Stella Maris.'' I pretty much hated them.

.-  What do you read when you're working on a book?

I reread old, familiar, well-written books. They give me an unreachable benchmark to reach for without contaminating my own voice.

.-  Do you write to music?

Not in a long time. Generally, I write to the background noise of whatever movies I've already seen a hundred times.

The Publishing continues to Part [2]. The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.