It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere.

I was a sidelines child: never class president, never team captain, never the one with the most valentines in my box.

The whole world had changed. Only the fairy tales remained the same. "And they lived happily ever after.

I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized that what intrigued me was not the science, not the chemistry or biology of medicine, but the narrative - the story of each patient, each illness.

Of course they needed to care. It was the meaning of everything.

Writing is self employment, so you can make your own schedule.

I often compare myself as a kid to my own grandchildren, who are around 11 and 14 now. That's the age kids usually read my book. And I remember myself, we'd gone through a world war. My father was an army officer so I was aware of what was going on. But I wasn't bombarded with images of catastrophe like many kids are today.