I think the end goal hopefully is to take advantage of the attention I've gotten along the way and use it for good and build some communities and as I get older I can continue to do things and be surrounded by things that are inspirational to me.

If you don't pay attention and if your imagination isn't pretty much engaged you're going to miss things and you're going to miss opportunities for it to be as compelling and as creepy as it can be.

I do a lot of curiosity buying I buy it if I like the album cover I buy it if I like the name of the band anything that sparks my imagination. I still like to go to record stores I like to just wander around and I'll buy whatever catches my attention.

It has always surprised me how little attention philosophers have paid to humor since it is a more significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out perceptions but the humor process is involved in changing them.

Humor is richly rewarding to the person who employs it. It has some value in gaining and holding attention but it has no persuasive value at all.

Do you force your kids to pay attention to what's going on or do you let them live their lives outside of it? My hope is that my child is a strong activist. That would make me most proud.

I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab people's attention to keep them turning the pages to make them stay awake all night. I want to stir the pulse yes but also to stir the heart. I hope 'The Woods' does that.

At home in Victoria we have three dogs Tosh and Lucy they're half Blue Heelers and then there's Torrin a little Maltese terrier. She gets more attention in the house than anyone else! Yes I miss them a lot.

But you know there's something about the kids finishing their homework in a given day working one-on-one getting all this attention - they go home they're finished. They don't stall they don't do their homework in front of the TV.

All of a sudden to get all of this attention and to be away from home and working all the time was hard. I was on planes all the time. I didn't see my friends. I cried a lot. It was quite terrifying.