If You Enjoy Math And

People Say That You Always Have To Tell The Truth. But They Do Not Mean This Because You Are Not Allowed To Tell Old People That They Are Old And You Are Not Allowed To Tell People If They Smell Funny Or If A Grown-up Has Made A Fart. And You Are Not Allowed To Say, 'i Don't Like You,' Unless That Person Has Been Horrible To You.

The Most Difficult Book I Wrote Was The Fourth In A Series Of Linked Children's Books. It Was Like Pulling Teeth Because The Publisher Wanted Exactly The Same But Completely Different. I'd Much Rather Just Do Something Completely Different Even If There's A Risk Of It Going Wrong.

Humour And High Seriousness... Perfect Bedfellows, I Think. Though I Usually Phrase It In Terms Of Comedy And Darkness. Comedy Without Darkness Rapidly Becomes Trivial. And Darkness Without Comedy Rapidly Becomes Unbearable.

I Think Most Writers Feel Like They're On The Outside Looking In Much Of The Time... All Of Us Feel, To A Certain Extent, Alienated From The Stuff Going On Around Us.

...and I Went Into The Garden And Lay Down And Looked At The Stars In The Sky And Made Myself Negligible.