Paula Danziger is one of the best-selling authors for young adults currently working in the United States, perhaps most widely known for The Cat Ate My Gymsuit. Her characters tend to be good-hearted 'outlaws' rebelling against rigid and confused parents, dictatorial school systems and unhappy social situations.

"My life as an author began as a small child when I realized that was what I wanted to do and started mentally recording a lot of information and observations. That's also when I started to develop the sense of humor and the sense of perspective that allows me to write the way I do.

"Technically, I suppose that many people would say that I began my career as an author when I signed the contract for my first book in 1973 for The Cat Ate My Gymsuit.

"For years I had nightmares about the small Pennsylvania town in which I spent...