Holidays are also an opportunity for kids to unlearn every good habit they've learned during the rest of the year. They don't go to school. They get to stay up past their bedtime. They get candy and presents for doing nothing. Childhood utopia.

Some people have their own bowling ball and their own bowling shoes... and no friends.

I like to stay in a hotel where it's a dome of silence. I can sit in my room and do nothing.

Actually, the reason I look like this is because my father was from Sweden and my mother was Elton John.

I definitely write about things that are universal, that everyone can identify with. You're supposed to write about things you're passionate about and I guess I am a foodie. I do love food and it's kind of like I'm an eccentric observationalist guy. To make it kind of universal, I try a lot of different things. When I first started writing this, I was like, 'No food.' Then, you know, it just always goes there.

One thing I'm afraid of is not taking advantage of opportunities. I feel like these are kind of gifts.

If someone picks up one thing you've written, you want them to go, 'Wow, this is pretty good.'