ere's some answers to FAQs (questions courtesy of Mrs. Murray's Fifth Grade class at Ascension School)... Dear Mrs. Murray's Fifth Grade Class: Wow! Thank you so much for writing. You guys sure asked some great questions. I thought I'd try to answer a bunch of them in one letter. It'll save some paper and my dog, Fred, is looking at me like he thinks he needs another walk. He can go with me to the mailbox! Elizabeth, Brent, and a lot of you wanted to know how old I was when I wrote my first book. Well, that depends. If you count the comic books I used to staple together in the basement when I was a kid, I guess I was eight or nine. Of course, the only ones who read that book were my mom and dad. My first "real" book was called TILT A WHIRL and it was published in 2005—one day after my fiftieth birthday! What a great present. Was I happy with the first book? Here's a little secret: writers are never really happy with anything they write. We can always see ways to make our stories or words or sentences a little bit better. However, TILT A WHIRL did win some awards and the critics in the newspapers said it was one of the best mysteries of the year that year, so I guess I did okay. Caney (sorry if I spelled it wrong, but you live on Maple Avenue), wondered why I used Mrs. Murray as a baby-sitter in the story. I sometimes use the names of people I know to be characters in my books. I thought Mrs. Murray, without the Mrs. in front, had a name that sounded like a teenager. So, I turned her into a teenaged babysitter in the book! Sometimes, I auction off character names in my books to raise money for charities. One lady donated almost five hundred dollars to a literacy charity so she could see her name in one of my mysteries. Mrs. Murray got hers for free. Brandon asked, "Where do you get your ideas from?" Easy—The Idea Store. Just kidding. Actually, ideas for stories are all around us. You just have to see something and wonder, "What if?" For instance, I was jogging along a country road and saw a roadside memorial made out of a cross and a bucket of flowers nailed to a telephone pole and I wondered, "what if this spot on the road was haunted by the ghost of the person being memorialized here?" From that spark, came the other fifty thousand words in THE CROSSROADS. Kaiya wondered if, while I am writing, do I ever feel like I've gone into the situation with my characters. Yes! In fact, writing is a lot like dreaming while being awake. You let your mind wander and act out the scenes with the characters on the pages. My wife knows she can't tell me anything important when I'm writing because I'll forget it. I'm there typing, but not really there in my mind. I have drifted into the story with all the characters! Lauren, when I was growing up, we were always making up our own stories and games. I have four brothers and we played outside or with our toys and used our imaginations to turn simple square blocks into castles and our tree house into an airplane. When I have free time, I like to run around Central Park or play with my dog, Fred. All the while, I let my imagination run with me, too! (I always carry a pen and note cards when I go anywhere, just in case I have an idea.) And Brooke, as you can probably tell, my favorite animal is The Dog. I also like cats. We have three of them. They sometimes jump into my lap or walk across my keyboard while I'm trying to write. Hiiiiiiiii. That was Tiger Lilly. For Frank—good luck on that snake book! Snakes always get a bum rap in stories; maybe you can change that and make a snake into a hero! Keara—wow! You asked a lot of questions. I can tell you really, really want to be a writer. Hmmmm. Reminds me of somebody. Me! If you're struggling for a way to put your idea into words, try this: "What if.and then." Start out with the "What if," and then add in complications. Think about the stories you like to read. Even the fairy tales you used to like to hear. Or the movies you enjoy watching. They are all full of conflict. Harry Potter starts with "what if an orphan learned he was really a wizard" and then he goes to a special wizard school and then he finds out the most evil wizard in the world is out to get him. What makes Harry's stories exciting are all the obstacles he has to overcome along the way. And yes, I am often working on two books (or two ideas) at the same time. I only write one at a time, but I'm always thinking about the next one. Rachael M? My favorite football team is probably the one from the University of Tennessee because I went to college there! And for Rachel B, who is quite tall for her age (I asked her doctor as she suggested), your letter really tickled me. You have a flare for putting words together in a fun way. Keep it up. In answer to your questions... I have black hair although some of it is currently turning white. I wear glasses when I need to read or see things far away (because I spend too much time staring at my computer screen). Fred, our dog, is a mutt—maybe a mix of pit bull and boxer. I am married to the prettiest woman in the world. The covers of my books are all different colors and different pictures but I try to keep my name the same. I am a bookworm because the first thing you need to do if you want to be a writer is be a reader. And, yes, you are now officially my friend. Moses, when I was in school, my favorite subject was lunch. Just kidding. I liked history, reading, and math—because, in math, there is always a right answer. And the next time I bump into Jerry Seinfeld on the street, I'll see if I can get him to give me an autograph but he may not because we don't really know each other, we just live on the same block in New York City. Somebody asked if I have a lot of fans. It turns out, I do! People send me e-mails all the time after they've read my books. My favorites are the ones that say my stories helped someone get through a rough time in their life, maybe sitting in the hospital when someone they love was sick. It's great to hear how reading my books helped them escape for a few hours. Hayley wanted to know if I have kids. I do not. But I try to be a good uncle. Cassie, and a few others, wanted to know if I have ever had a book I wrote rejected. YES! Lots of times. In fact, my first book that was published was the fourth book I had written. Some of my new ideas still get rejected. That's why it's most important to love the actual writing process. You never can tell if a publisher will be interested in what you have written so you need to enjoy the writing part first! (I do.) And yes—I love the Beatles. Chad had one simple question: Why did you want to become an author? I guess because I like making stuff up—creating people and a whole world using nothing but words. And for everybody who asked, yes—I enjoy being an author. It's a lot of fun! I get to make up stories and read neat mail from new friends like you! Keep on writing!