I made the choice long ago to write about real life. And life is both serious and funny.

I try to be careful because technology changes so much over the years. But some things don't change. Kids and parents have disagreements, kids try to manipulate, parents try to sit down with rules and regs. That part never changes

Mistakes are growth, and we learn not to do it again. But it doesn't make you a terrible person. That's important to me.

Pistachio nuts, the red ones, cure any problem.

I'm very lucky. I'm very fortunate that my books have never gone out of print - none of them

Normally, I name my characters after famous comedians.

It's not easy being so frightened of everything. And when I think of how much I've improved in the last year, I wonder when I'll ever get finished with making changes and be really grown up.