I believe that kids as well as adults are entitled to books of no socially redeeming value.

If you want to be a writer, don't worry so much about writing. Read as much as you can. Read as many different writers as you can. Soak up the styles.

Well, I hate it when authors come into a school and they say to kids, 'Write from your heart, only write what you know, and write from your heart.' I hate that because it's useless. I've written over 300 books - not one was written from my heart. Not one. They were all written for an audience, they were all written to entertain a certain audience.

When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books.

I love theme parks but I'm a real chicken on rides. I'd rather invent scary rides for my books than go on them for real.

If you do enough planning before you start to write, there's no way you can have writer's block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline.

I feel happy to terrify kids.