Meet Anthony Horowitz

Family: Lives in England. His wife, Jill Green, is producer of his TV series, "Foyle's War." Sons Nicholas, 17, and Cassian, 15, he says, "get very aggravated when they are trying to do homework and I break into their room to get their response to things. They refuse now to read anything until it's finished. They don't want to lose the suspense. . . . I'm quite concerned they are getting too old now. Where would I get two more teenagers from?"

Writing schedule: "I tend to work a 10-hour day, most days, seven days a week. . . . I will start at 8 in the morning, or sometimes 6 in the evening, and I don't stop."

Favorite books: "As a kid I loved Tintin. I wasn't a very bright kid, and I found the Tintin books very accessible because they're picture books. I was a huge Marvel comics collector, too. . . . And Willard Price's adventures. . . . Ian Fleming later, of course. I thought the Bond books were wonderful."

Best present received as a kid: "My mother gave me a human skull when I was 13. That's true, but I think I should have a better answer than that. I suppose it was my first typewriter; my father gave it to me when I was 14 or 12. You can choose. The second answer is just so boring and obvious: Passionate writer gets a new typewriter."