I was born in Utah, and that's where I live again now. My wife Kathy and I have raised our family, so it's just the two of us at home now. (Don't tell anyone, but we rather like it that way.) We live in a mountain valley on the edge of a little town called Midway. We also live on the edge of a golf course, and we're only a few miles from Park City, where many of the 2002 Olympic events will be held. In the evening, deer graze on the golf course that doubles as our back yard, and in the winter, a large herd of elk sometimes moves in. We have lots of windows in our house, and we use them all, just gazing out at our beautiful surroundings.

When I was a boy I spent a lot of time reading. I loved the way I felt when I entered those stories and left the “less real” world behind. Now, in my office that overlooks our valley, I enter my own stories each morning, and I find the experience just as exciting.

I didn't spend all my time reading when I was growing up. I played lots of sports, had good friends, was involved in all kinds of school activities, and was writing, even then. I wrote my first novel the year that I graduated from high school. It wasn't very good, and it was never published, but I learned a great deal by writing it.

The following years should have forced me to grow up. I went to college, served as a missionary for two years, got married, went to graduate school and had three children. And all during those year, I was still writing. I wrote a novel while I was in college, which was also never published, and then, after teaching a few years, wrote a third book. But once again, it was turned down by all the publishers I tried.

The fourth book I wrote was finally the first one I was able to publish. That was in 1979, and I had started trying in 1961. But since 1979, I've published more than eighty books for children, young adults and adults. They include a wide range of my interests: humor for middle-grade readers, sports books, serious fiction, historical novels, mysteries, and non-fiction.

So I'm a writer. Long ago, I gave up teaching, and I moved home to Utah. I sit in this quiet valley in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains, and I create those fictional worlds I love so much. Reality is never quite as good as the dreams we start out with in life, but in this case, it's pretty close. Most mornings I don't really feel like writing when I get up but once I get going my day is soon gone, and I feel sorry for all the people in the world who have jobs.

I don't spend all my time writing, however. I use the three golf courses in my neighborhood; I ski at the nearby ski resorts; I go for walks with my wife into the canyons around us; I spend time with my children and grandchildren as often as possible; I fly here and there to speak at schools and children's literature conferences; I still read a great deal; I love movies (We have a home theater with a big screen); and my wife and I love to travel. But all that comes in my “spare time.” The bulk of my days are spent at my computer, where I write all day long. (Not everyone would find as much joy in that as I do.)

It is a little strange to get used to the idea that my children are all grown up. I'll have to admit, I was on the edge myself there for a few years, but growing up is still something I try to avoid. I think I'll leave it as one of those projects I'll try to get around to once I retire.