How different is Everworld from Animorphs? Are there any similarities in the two series? And, more specifically, what are the similarities and differences between the main characters of each?

Pretty different, I think. I mean, there are only so many writing tricks I know, so it can only be so different. But there's no morphing, no space ships. This series is less about technology and more about magic.

As for the characters, it's hard to compare because the ANIMORPH characters have had a long time to evolve while the EVERWORLD characters are brand new, out of the oven. I've told my editors that the difference between Jake and David is the difference between George Washington and Bill Clinton. Jake is the classic leader. David is a bit more ambiguous. Beyond that, the only real parallel is between EVERWORLD's Christopher and ANIMORPH's Marco. They both have a sense of humor, but Christopher is a more troubled person with a certain narrow-mindedness complicated by a nascent drinking problem. April and Jalil have some small similarities to Cassie and Ax respectively, but not a lot.

I can't say that the EVERWORLD characters are more complex, because I think the ANIMORPH characters are also fairly complex. I think the EVERWORLD characters are just older, and thus have had more time to develop problems.

In starting Everworld, did you ever consider ending Animorphs?

No.

How long does it take to write each book? Is one series more difficult to write than the other?

I write about ten pages a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Each series is easy or difficult in its own way. I know ANIMORPHS so well by now that sometimes it's almost an unconscious process. EVERWORLD is still new, I'm still figuring it out, so it's challenging, which makes it easier in some ways, harder in others. But with EVERWORLD I keep having to go back over scenes and remind myself, "No, no, it's more like this."

After reading the first Everworld book, it is obvious the story continues. Did you always plan for both Everworld and Animorphs to be open-ended series? Do you have any plans on how you would end either series, if and when that time should come?

Yes, both were conceived as series. Of course I had no idea ANIMORPHS would go to this many books, but my thinking was always that I'd better be prepared for it to last a while. I liken series writing to being marooned on a desert island: all you have is what you brought with you. So in designing a series you have to make sure you have plenty of plot and character possibilities right from the start.

Eventually both series will end. Of course the ANIMORPH characters may be sixty by then. Maybe they'll buy adjoining condos in Boca Raton and wander up and down the beach muttering, "These kids today, what do they know from morphing? In my day..."

Are there any things you are comfortable telling readers they can look forward to in the next few Everworld books?

We have Aztecs, we have human sacrifice, we have the Knights of the Round Table, dragons and Merlin. We even have a bit of chaste romance with none other than Galahad. That's up through book #3. Haven't planned past that, yet.

There is a fair amount of detail behind the descriptions of animals and their habits, characteristics, etc., in the Animorphs books. What kind of research do you do in writing these series, especially in creating the mythically-based people and places of Everworld?

Oh, I research very carefully by going to the mythology section at Barnes and Noble or Borders, plopping down with a cup of coffee, and pretty much looking at pictures. Seriously, I do not want to over-research, otherwise I'll become a prisoner of existing stories. I dip in, get what I need, then run away before anyone else's ideas become fixed in my mind.

I'd love to be able to really research things deeply and thoroughly, but there are time constraints in writing a series.

How do you come up with all those other, "made-up" names, places and things that help make your books so intriguing (and your fans so fanatical)?

Nine times out of ten I take an existing word, something I see around me, and start playing with it. The word "nothlit" as I've mentioned before, is from "Hilton." I used to live where I could see a Hilton sign. "Visser" is sort of the child of "vizier" and "vicious." Other times I just play with nice sounds till I get something I like. It's basically me sitting at my computer going, "Endolium, endril, tendril, andrils, ugh this coffee's cold, andalese . . . Andalites."

What do you think it is about Animorphs that connects with so many kids? What do you think (and hope) it will be with Everworld?

I think both series have a similar psychological underpinning. And I hate to talk about it because really for me it's just about coming up with something fun, but both series are about change. You could argue that ANIMORPHS is about the change from childhood to adolescence with all the physical morphing, the acceptance of greater responsibility, the objectifying of adults as real people and not icons. And you could say EVERWORLD is about the change that comes a few years later when kids are on the verge of adulthood. They're leaving the universe of school and their parent's home, heading out into the adult world of college and work. EVERWORLD is a new universe full of new problems and challenges unlike the universe we all grow up in. I want readers to be a little uncertain about whether they'd want to stay in EVERWORLD. I mean, the dragons might be cool, but then again, they might decide to turn you into a charcoal briquette. There's a metaphor for adult life: could be cool, or you could end up a briquette.

Did you ever expect Animorphs to be so successful? What hopes and expectations do you have for Everworld?

I hope and expect that EVERWORLD will crush all competitors, ah hah hah HAH! Or not. Actually, I thought ANIMORPHS would be a sort of small-scale cult hit. I expect the same of EVERWORLD. It always amazes me when I see ANIMORPHS on bestseller lists. Of course I'm not complaining.

Are you surprised to see a substantial audience of older kids (12-16), as well as a number of adults, enjoying Animorphs? What do you anticipate the audience to be for Everworld?

Actually, I'm not surprised. I never wrote ANIMORPHS to be age-specific. I almost never think "Oh, that's too complicated or sophisticated for nine year olds, so I better cut it." I'd rather write over the heads of some younger kids and let them work to get it. Of course the characters are middle school or junior high characters so I keep the situations appropriate to them. They don't have jobs or get involved in serious dating. I'd like to think EVERWORLD will also appeal to a fairly broad age spectrum. However, because these are high school age characters I would be uncomfortable with very young kids reading EVERWORLD. I know it's a platitude to say that parents should know what their kids are reading, but personally, as writer, I do hope parents pay attention.

Animorphs, as we know, is now published in a number of countries all around the world. Does any of this surprise or intrigue you, and can you see Everworld ultimately enjoying similar international success?

I think it's very cool that ANIMORPHS has gone pretty much worldwide. It worries me sometimes in that I hope I'm not accidentally violating some cultural norm somewhere. Don't mind violating the occasional cultural norm, I just want to do it voluntarily. I don't know if EVERWORLD will go as far, but maybe. I'm going to try and work in cultural reference points, in this case mythologies, from a wide range of cultures, so maybe that will help. Or maybe, again, I'll just accidentally violate some cultural norm.

What do you think of online book retailing?

If they're selling my books I'm all for them. I have used Amazon and Barnes and Noble online for some purchases. And I go to both sites to check the reader reviews and see what people are saying. I saw a great review some girl (I think I recall that it was a girl) had written denouncing me over the book where the Animorphs survive a trip through a slaughterhouse. This girl was very much in favor of vegetarianism and was just denouncing me left and right. I thought it was great. I like to think that my books can elicit such intelligent, passionate reactions. So I like that feature of on-line retailers.

But I'm old-fashioned in that I still prefer the hands-on experience of an actual store. I can know so much more about a book by picking it up than I can ever hope to from the online experience. And I just like the ambience of a bookstore. I could happily spend five or six hours wandering around a bookstore.

Of the many things you hear and read from fans of Animorphs, what are some of your favorites? Have you ever used any ideas or suggestions supplied from fans in your books?

I have used suggestions. Fans poked at me endlessly about female Andalites so I made a female Andalite one of the central characters in HORK-BAJIR CHRONICLES and I think it worked really well. Fans also demanded a new Animorph, so I gave them David. Temporarily. Then there's the kiss issue: will Jake kiss Cassie, will Rachel kiss Tobias? That came up a lot, so I finally wrote it in.

How has your success as an author impacted your lifestyle? Is there something you always wanted to do that you are able to do now that you have the chance?

Well, thanks to my success I now live a life where the Dom Perignon never stops flowing, and the caviar and foie gras are piled high, and the professionally-administered massage runs continuously from nine in the morning till nine at night. People stop me in the street and beg me for my autograph. The president calls me a couple of times a day for advice. Or not. In reality, yes, I have a bit nicer house and a bit nicer car than I did before. For example, in my new car I can no longer see the street through the floorboards. What I'd like to do that I can now afford to do is travel, but I don't have the time since I'm always writing.

You keep a very low and quiet personal profile. Why?

I have worked hard to remain anonymous and invisible and unrecognized. I'm a writer, not an actor or a comedian or a politician. I'd infinitely rather have my privacy than the shallow rush of being recognized. I think this society is neck deep in "look-at-me!" types. Someone has to balance them off a bit by being a "go-away!" person.

Your photo has been released, of course (on book jackets and on the Web site). Have you ever been recognized in public and stopped for autographs? How does that feel?

I'm never recognized in public -- and sometimes not at home. I've stood in book stores buying extra copies of my own books, paid with a credit card in my name, and still not been recognized. Which is exactly how I like it. Not to flog the issue, but I just don't see the advantage in having people staring at me and whispering while I dribble mayonnaise out of my Wendy's chicken sandwich. How does that make my life better? I don't get the celebrity culture, don't like it, don't approve of it.

Are you excited about the expansion of Animorphs into the world of television, action figures, toys, games, CD-Rom, etc.? Which, if any, are the most exciting and/or intriguing to you? Do you see similar activity for Everworld in the future?

All of that sort of takes place beyond me, away from me. Scholastic sends me letters every now and then announcing something new and I think, "Huh, that's kind of cool," and that's about it. I thought the toys were neat because they fulfilled a prophecy of sorts. I was walking in the toy aisle at Target with a friend, just as ANIMORPHS was first coming out, and he predicted the day would come when there'd be an ANIMORPHS Transformer. To which I said, "A what?"

At one level it's almost kind of disturbing, because here I am, writing away, like I've been doing for years, doing my little job, and out there somewhere are all these people involved with the series. It's like I'm making paper dolls at home and discover they have this whole other life where they sneak out of the house at night and party with Hollywood types. In any case, I kind of stick to writing the books because that's something I know how to do, whereas marketing or toy design or art work are all being handled by people who are experts in those areas.

Also it just adds pressure. It's enough for me to think "I need to get this book finished." I don't need to think "I need to get this book finished or the ANIMORPHS/EVERWORLD empire will come to a screeching halt and there'll be no toys for the kids, and no TV show for Nickelodeon, and no jobs for all the people who print and distribute and sell the books, and out-of-work editors will be forced to wander the streets wearing 'Will Correct Syntax For Food' signs." Who needs all that? I keep it simple: "Write your pages, Katherine. Then go shopping."

You wrote many books before Animorphs and Everworld. Which are your favorites? What do you enjoy most about Animorphs and Everworld?

Before ANIMORPHS I wrote mostly romances. My favorite was SHARING SAM because I thought I did an okay job on that. I thought I did pretty well with the first eight books of BOYFRIENDS/GIRLFRIENDS which has now mutated into MAKING OUT. I gave up the series after 8 books, so I can't vouch for the rest. They may be great, I don't know. A series I did called SUMMER was pretty lame because I was just sick of romances by then. I was looking for ways to have the characters all leave town and go live in a cave somewhere. I even did a horse series called SILVER CREEK RIDERS under the pseudonym Beth Kincaid. Those were hard because I knew nothing about horses and had to research every word.

Did you always want to be a writer?

Not really. I know I'm supposed to say "Yes!" but the truth is I came to it late. My first career choice involved someone just magically paying me to go shopping. That never worked out.

Where, when, and how do you write?

I use a computer. A Gateway at the moment, also a Sony laptop. I have just switched from WordPerfect to Word. No particular reason. I write in my home office. How? Pretty much by taking my fingers and pushing down on the keyboard so that letters appear on the screen.

Do you have any plans, as a writer, beyond Animorphs and Everworld?

When I'm done with these two series that will be it for series. I want to write one book every two years, like normal writers do. I'd like to see what it's like to have more than thirty seconds to come up with a metaphor. It's strange doing series, very different from what most writers do. A normal writer takes a year to write a book, then spends a year talking about it, signing it, reading it at schools, so on. Then she eventually starts a new book. With me I have 30 plus ANIMORPHS on the shelves and like six more already written but not yet published, and I've outlined another half dozen beyond that. There's no beginning, middle and end. And there's so much backstory by now. Kids write me these very smart letters asking why I did such and such in book 12 and I have no idea because that seems like something I wrote a million years ago. I don't know how R.L. Stine and Ann Martin do it.

However, I'll still be writing ANIMORPHS and EVERWORLD for years. Maybe longer if I don't get back to work.

What books and authors did you read as a kid? Which are your biggest influences?

Well, Charlotte's Web is my all-time favorite kid's book. And of course, Dr. Seuss who was a genius. As far as direct influences on ANIMORPHS and EVERWORLD, I'm afraid that Star Trek and X-Files are the major influences.

What are you reading now?

I'm reading these questions. What do you think I'm . . . Oh, you mean what books. Ahh. Well, I'm reading or at least skimming a lot of mythology for EVERWORLD. For entertainment I'm reading Ann Tyler's latest novel.

What advice would you give to young writers today?

Rewrite. Everyone, when they're young, thinks writing is about inspiration, like the words will all just appear in the precisely right way on the page. That's not how it works. Writing isn't an ecstatic vision that pops into your head. Not generally, anyway. It's more like gardening. There's a lot of weeding involved.

What do you like best about your life as a children's book writer?

I get to work at home. No special clothing is involved. There are no meetings. I can stop any time I want to go raid the refrigerator, and I don't have to ask anyone's permission. There are no memos. There are no "official policies." I don't have to be nice to anyone in my workplace because there's no one else in my workplace. In a word: freedom.

If you were not writing, what might you be doing, instead?

Well, before I became a Beloved Author I was a Beloved Waitress, a Beloved Plant Care Person, and a Beloved Cleaning Person. But I guess now if I couldn't write I'd have to go back to my first love: the simple outdoor life of a goatherd.

What are your hobbies? Favorite foods, music and TV shows? Other things that help define who you are?

Top Two Hobbies:
1) Shopping
2) Trying to come up with lists of hobbies.

Top Three Foods:
1) Popcorn
2) Olives
3) Grilled salmon

Top Four Musical Favorites:
1) J.S. Bach
2) B.B. King
3) Bonnie Raitt
4) Rolling Stones

Top Five TV shows:
1) Frazier
2) Sports Night
3) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
4) The News. (Dan Rather if it's a big day for hurricanes, Peter Jennings if it's a big day for things which are hard to pronounce.)
5) CBS Sunday Morning

Top Six Other Things Which Define Me:
1) I didn't like high school
2) I did like college
3) I love to read the morning papers
4) I like animals
5) I am a horrible person until after my morning coffee, toast and shower
6) My favorite flavor is raspberry

You write about such exotic locales. What are the most exciting places (on earth) that you have visited? Is there any place you could see yourself living in the future?

I have not been able to travel all that much. I've only been to Europe once. But I've lived in odd places. I spent a summer in a beach town room the size of a walk-in closet with a bathroom down the hall and a carnival outside my window. Sadly I was an adult, not a college kid.

In the future I see myself travelling to every last place on Earth that has decent room service.

Do you believe in a parallel universe?

Sure. Let me check with Alternate-Katherine and see what she says. Yep, she agrees.