It was fifth period - English -
when the phone rang in the classroom. Now, when the phone does ring, which is rare, the recipient,
for some reason, is never me. So, when I heard my name, I knew that I had either done something
really bad, or really great. I went to the English Office, where I was told to call Teen Ink.
Crossing my fingers, I dialed the number. Ten minutes later I proceeded to Chemistry - with a huge
grin.

Did you ever notice how teenage status sometimes originates from one
student's relationship to a"famous" person? One of my friend's father used to be
Christina Aguilera's agent, while my only claim to fame lay in the somewhat ancient violinist
Paganini (of whom most teenagers have never heard). When I found out I was going to speak personally
with the Guinness Book of World Records' recipient of the award for most children's books ever sold,
R. L. Stine, I was more than a little ecstatic (not to mention nervous). Such an opportunity, after
all, only comes once in a lifetime!

A few weeks later, I spent three hours
sorting through interview questions at a café near Mr. Stine's New York City home. We then
walked to his apartment, where an elegantly dressed doorman welcomed us. Expecting the elevator to
open to another hallway, I was surprised when the door revealed the inside of Mr. Stine's apartment.
Nadine, Mr. Stine's brown and white spaniel, greeted Devon, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer, and me with a
lolling tongue and a bright smile. (If dogs can smile, this dog definitely was!) I looked up to
seen one other than the famous author himself welcoming us. He ushered us into the living room, where
we chatted for a few minutes before beginning the interview. The first thing I recall about Mr.
Stine was his geniality and humor. He showed us the view from his window commenting, "You
see that river over there?Well, if for some reason this building next to me fell down, I would have
a great view of it. " He was a very warm and friendly man, and my nervousness dissipated
immediately.

Throughout the interview, he answered all our questions with
thought and interest, and by no means did he rush to finish. On eof the answers I liked the most was
when he said, "All of these writers are always telling you to write from your heart. I
never once wrote from my heart. Just write because you like to write. " I believe this is
the best advice I've ever heard about writing.

After the interview, Mr. Stine
thanked us for not asking him one question: where do you get your ideas? (We had read in his
biography that he didn't like that question. ) He gave us a tour of his apartment, which looked small
when we first entered, but was huge and beautiful. If someone asked me what it looked like, I would
say, "a famous person's apartment. " It is difficult to explain, but all I can say
is that it was the way the pool balls lined up in a perfect triangle on a table inside a
gorgeous library just looked, well, famous.

Devon and I worked really
well together during this interview and became great friends in a short time, finding many
similarities. By the end of the day, we were chatting like we had known each other for years. Her
friendly personality made interviewing a world-renowned author a lot less nerve-wracking. Mr. Stine
was hospitable, friendly, modest and genuinely interested in us and our questions. I would
definitely title the experience "one of the best of my life. " After all, it isn't
every day that a 16-year-old "Jersey girl" gets to meet a world-famous
author.

Sometimes I think that 50 years from now, I will tell my
grandchildren, "Did you know you are related to Paganini?"
"Paga-who?" they might respond. "Okay, well, did I ever tell you about
the time I met R. L. Stine?" I will ask. My grandchildren will probably laugh with
recognition. "Oh yeah, R. L. Stine! I just finished one of those Nightmare Room
books yesterday. "