I'm incredibly nostalgic for the '80s, because I think that's when Geek Culture really kicked in to high gear.

I was just starting out, trying to become a screenwriter, and I became the Austin slam champion three times. For a nerdy, kind of a socially awkward guy, that did wonders for my self esteem.

I burned through all of my extra lives in a matter of minutes, and my two least-favorite words appeared on the screen: GAME OVER.

I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn't know how to connect with the people there.

For one quarter, Black Tiger lets me escape from my rotten existence for three glorious hours. Pretty good deal.

Whenever I saw the sun, I reminded myself that I was looking at a star. One of over a hundred billion in our galaxy. A galaxy that was just one of billions of other galaxies in the observable universe. This helped me keep things in perspective.

It's so much better to hand over a finished book than having all these people waiting.