I feel lucky that my career so far has included books for adults and books for kids. They're equally important to me, and I hope I get to continue writing both.

There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off on until I need it for the story. World building in advance isn't really my thing, maybe because I didn't grow up playing RPG's.

In high school, I stole a six-foot submarine sandwich from a banquet room in front of several hundred people. I did it because I was in marching band, and we were promised food if we played, and they broke their promise. It was my first and only heist, motivated by justice and hunger.

Back in 1982, when there were still only a manageable number of 'X-Men' titles on the racks (by which I mean just one), Marvel quite reasonably figured the world could stand another team of beleaguered mutant superheroes. And so were born 'The New Mutants,' junior X-Men whose powers had just begun to manifest at the onset of puberty.

I was a lower middle-class kid. My family had no money. There was no room in our small house where there were already four kids, including myself, living.

You've just got to focus on you, yourself, your family, your team... and all the rest is just fluff.

My music reflects my strong belief in equal opportunities for all - specifically young girls and women. Many, many children do not have anywhere near the opportunities that we kids did in my community - great schools, public safety, etc.

Many children in the foster care system are often in the midst of a family challenge.