I was writing at a really young age, but it took me a long time to be brave enough to become a published writer, or to try to become a published writer. It's a very public way to fail. And I was kind of scared, so I started out as a ghost writer, and I wrote for other series, like Disney 'Aladdin' and 'Sweet Valley' and books like that.

K. A. Applegate

Categorized in : Me Long Time Age

I hate to witness animals in captivity - or see circus elephants paraded down the streets. When animals are caged, it's a loss of what they are.

K. A. Applegate

down see hate loss

When I was a child, going to a circus with wild animal acts was a rite of passage. These days, it's an act of complicit cruelty.

K. A. Applegate

act wild child animal

I think we have a real obligation when we do have animals in captivity to understand their needs and to care for them as well as we can.

K. A. Applegate

understand think care real

I think all writers write from the time they're really young, and you just start asking the question, 'What if?'

K. A. Applegate

start think you time

I live in a high-rise apartment building, so I just have two cats. They're both pound kitties. One of them, Dick, is an evil, foot-biting cat. When I write a tiger morph, I'm always imagining Dick.

K. A. Applegate

tiger cats live evil

I think most writers will say that at the start of each book they think, 'I'm not sure I can do this.' But eventually, you reach a magical point where the story suddenly becomes real to you, and you become totally invested in it.

K. A. Applegate

start think you book

What do we lose without wild animal acts at the circus? Absolutely nothing, except the opportunity to be haunted and heartbroken.

K. A. Applegate

lose nothing opportunity animal

I was sure I wanted to grow up to be either a veterinarian or a writer. In fact, I worked for a vet during high school, doing everything from cleaning cages to assisting in surgery.

K. A. Applegate

grow doing high-school school

I've got to believe I'm the first person to win the Newbery who has written a Harlequin romance!

K. A. Applegate

person who win believe

Gorillas may seem terrifying because of their bodies, but they are really magnificent and very gentle.

K. A. Applegate

really because gentle may

That penetrating gaze, that intelligence; it's hard not to be anthropomorphic when you're looking at a great ape - at any primate - but especially with gorillas. They're just so magnificent.

K. A. Applegate

looking great you intelligence

I hope kids feel gratitude for what they do have.

K. A. Applegate

feel gratitude hope kids

I grew up with a menagerie of dogs, cats, gerbils - not to mention three younger siblings.

K. A. Applegate

dogs cats up three

I really love writing, but I am very easily distracted: my two cats fighting, a rainbow, a TV show... I have to use every trick to keep myself at the computer.

K. A. Applegate

cats i-am myself love

I tend to write short, brief snippets - I lean toward the chamber music end as opposed to the symphony end of things.

K. A. Applegate

short end things music

At the end of the day, I'd love to see children stop begging their parents to go to the circus. That's what would make me most happy.

K. A. Applegate

day me love children

One of my first paid gigs was writing psychology quizzes for 'YM,' a monthly teen magazine like 'Seventeen.'

K. A. Applegate

teen first like writing

I think younger readers connect so readily to animal characters because they share a certain vulnerability, particularly when it comes to adult humans, who can be a rather unpredictable lot.

K. A. Applegate

who think unpredictable animal

One of the reasons I love writing for middle graders, besides their voracious appetite for books, is their deep concern for fairness and morality.

K. A. Applegate

deep morality writing love

I grew up in an affluent suburban world and never worried about money until I'd grown up and found wonderfully original ways to screw up my life.

K. A. Applegate

my-life money life world