Making my class laugh and getting in trouble. I was the class clown.

I've had a very sheltered life. What can happen to you if you stay home writing all day?

It's my job, too, to keep up with pop culture and what the kids are into 'cause you don't want to sound like an old man trying to write for kids. I spend a lot of my time spying on them.

I've made myself laugh from some ideas - but I've never scared myself.

Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different books by various authors so that you develop different styles.

I used to get a haircut every Saturday so I would never miss any of the comic books. I had practically no hair when I was a kid!

Everything that has happened to me has been amazing and surprising.