I started writing when I was five. My first work was an updating of "The Three Bears" in which the Bear family was rich and prosperous, playing tennis and enjoying the good life while their friend Chipmunk froze to death in his small shack. My style has matured a bit over the years, although I'm still drawn toward stories involving outsiders and their desire to fit in.
The major influences on my writing have been Robert Cormier (who showed me that writing for young people did not have to be all talking animals and pixie dust), Stephen King (who is the master of more...