You can't even look outside because everything's so crazy, especially in America. And I live in Detroit! There's the economy, and the fact you can't even open your door any more without going nuts.

The only real failure to me is if you don't finish something.

I was seven years old when 'Creepshow' came out, and I'm guessing I was around 10 when I saw it for the first time on VHS. The opening theme reminds me that there are five stories to be told, all so different, and the process of telling a scary story is a dark, glorious trip.

I can't imagine writing a novel without some sound. When you're facing a few hundred blank pages, silence can be cold.

I didn't sleep much in the summer of '98. Was getting ready to move to New York City. Start a band. That was a madman's summer. A summer of change.

I think some horror authors are trying to scare you, but with me, I'm as scared as the reader is of the story. I've always been that way, since watching the 'Twilight Zone' movie - watching 'Firestarter' when my parents were out, or sneaking out to watch 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' at a friend's house because I couldn't watch it at my house.

I never actually sought out an agent or a publishing house. A friend of mine named David Simmer got wind of what I was doing, and he sent one of my books to a literary lawyer in Los Angeles. He loved it, and he sent it to other people, including an agent, and he picked me up, and that's how 'Bird Box' got to where it is now.

I didn't get a formal introduction to horror until right about the age of 12, when my uncle showed me 'Twilight Zone: The Movie.' When you're 12 years old, and you see that - oh, God. I devoured as many horror movies and novels as possible.

I wrote my first book in fifth grade. It was about a dog that goes to outer space and is an ambassador for Earth.

I'm okay with the path that I'm on, but it's fascinating to think, 'I could've been a gay guy in Key West. I could be working at an insurance company in Lansing. But somehow, this is what's happening.'