I like to relate to my kids as they are. I enjoy spending that time with them. I see that my girls are so completely different and different from me, too.

We like movies and books that give us this emotionally moving experience, where you feel like a slightly different person, and you see the world a little different after you finish. It lets you see your own life in a different way, and it actually makes you feel really good.

Oftentimes when you see adaptations of books you like, you're let down. As an author, you assume that they are going to suck. A little bit of hope is dangerous.

As an author, I really hate a reader like me. There's no loyalty.

I can't pretend to be a teenager, but I feel like I never really stopped being a teenager.

Sometimes I did feel like I came from a different tribe. I was not like my outgoing, ironic dad or my tough-chick mom. And as if to seal the deal, instead of learning to play electric guitar, I'd gone and chosen the cello.