I love the holidays on 'The Middle' because I feel like I'm getting that very traditional American holiday experience that I never had growing up.

I never want to sound preachy about youth and feminism, but I feel like there aren't enough young people coming out about their concerns and opinions.

Someone was asking me what my favorite outfit is, and 100%, without a doubt in my mind, is my forever lazy.

I remember the general anxiety of teenager, and I remember establishing some sort of appearance based on what my peers would think. And cliques, oh my God, the worst. The worst!

When I grew up, my family, we sat down, all of us to watch 'Good Times,' 'Sanford and Son,' all those shows that were out at that time.

And when I retired, trust me, not only did Nolan Ryan, but the entire Ryan family had withdrawals from baseball. And it was tough.

I discovered writing children's books was a way to keep living in my imagination like a child. So I wrote a number of books before I started 'Magic Tree House.' Then, once I got that, I never looked back because I could be somewhere different in every single book.

When my sister and I were very young, my father used to tell us fairy stories that he'd made up. My mother was always telling him that he should write them down, but he would say, 'Well, they've all been done before. There are so many blooming books in the world - why should I write another one?'