Still,she says her books reflect the Nancy Drew stories that she read as a child: "Things that I read as a kid keep cropping up in my own work whether I realize it or not.

VOA: special.2009.08.24

"I did it 20 years ago as a kid. I just needed some extra work."

VOA: standard.2010.07.20

Remember how much fun it was to play with paper airplanes as a kid?

VOA: standard.2010.03.17

and I think it makes it so that when you take your kid, if you're a mom, it's really fun for to you to watch as well.

VOA: standard.2010.05.19

He started even earlier. "When I was a little kid, I found a couple of traps washed up on the beach and I was mesmerized by it,you know.

VOA: standard.2010.07.20

"I'm in my 50s, and I went to see him at the Forum here in California , I believe it was about 1969, and I was just a young kid myself."

VOA: standard.2009.06.28