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Author Information
 R.L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling GoosebumpsŪ series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
R.L. Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
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INTERVIEW
 September 2004
Terry Miller Shannon of Kidsreads.com interviews R.L. Stine, the #1 bestselling children's author of all time. Stine talks about his inspiration for the MOSTLY GHOSTLY series, explains why he enjoys writing books for children, and offers advice to young people who would like to follow in his footsteps.
KRC: Can you tell us how you started your career as a writer?
R.L. Stine: I've been writing since I was nine years old. I always knew I wanted to be a writer. After college, I moved to New York City and started to look for writing jobs on magazines.
KRC: How did you come up with the idea for the series MOSTLY GHOSTLY?
RLS: I love ghost stories, and I've always wanted to write a series about a boy who is haunted by ghosts --- and his family doesn't believe him. I love writing this series because it's the first series I've ever done with continuing characters.
KRC: Do you prefer to write adult or children's books? What is the difference in your writing techniques?
RLS: I've written a few thrillers for adults. But my favorite time is when I'm working on books for kids. That's because kids are such an enthusiastic audience. If they like a book, they write to you and tell you. Adults don't have time to write to authors.
KRC: What are your hobbies?
RLS: I collect old Sunday Comics pages from the '30s and '40s. I like taking my dog Nadine for long walks in Central Park. I love walking around New York City, where I live. I like old black and white movies. And I love to read all the time.
KRC: Who are your favorite authors or books?
RLS: One of my favorite authors is the sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury. He wrote one of my favorite, creepy books: SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. I read a lot of mysteries and I like to read funny novels, too.
KRC: Is Halloween your favorite holiday?
RLS: Well, of COURSE Halloween is my favorite holiday! It's the day EVERYONE gets to be SCARY!
KRC: What's the scariest thing that ever happened to you?
RLS: I don't have a very scary life. I'm home writing books all the time. What could happen?
KRC: When your son Matthew was younger, did he love to read your books?
RLS: Matt's claim to fame is that he NEVER read any of my books! Isn't that terrible? It's true. When Matt was a kid, he read only Garfield comics --- no books by me!
KRC: Do you have any advice for aspiring kids who want to become authors?
RLS: Read, read, read. Read all kinds of authors --- not just one. That way, you soak up a lot of different styles. Also, keep a journal. Write something in it every day.
KRC: What are you working on now?
RLS: I'm working on MOSTLY GHOSTLY #5, and I'm really enjoying it.
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