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For me, 'The Kite Runner' became about a guy who's emotionally shut down because he hasn't confronted his past.

All the old school Young Adult novels inspired me. I grew up reading R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Richie Cusick, and so on. I loved how you never really knew who the 'bad guys' were in their works, and I wanted to capture that feeling with 'Don't Look Back.'

My favorite kind of book is a domestic drama that's grounded in reality yet slightly unhinged.

My most successful books, the ones that I feel the strongest about, are the ones that started with a premise that for me was deeply emotional.

I was warped early by Ray Bradbury and Edgar Allan Poe. I was very fond of Franz Kafka.

When I was a boy, unconsciously, spontaneously I learned the art of telling ironic stories.

I was really influenced by Joan Didion and Pauline Kael; they were both at the height of their influence when I was coming into my own as a reader.

The stories I love the most are where the author has a lot of empathy for everyone. The author loves their characters and takes their situations really seriously, and you feel like you're just dropped into a different world.

What influenced me was Tori Amos, who was unapologetic about expressing anger through music, and Sinead O'Connor. Those two in particular were really moving for me, and very inspiring, before I wrote 'Jagged Little Pill.'