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-K.A. Applegate's full name is Katherine Alice Applegate. She was born in Michigan in 1956 and has lived in amny places-California, Flordia, Texas-and now resides in Minneonapolis. (Twin Cities. Now we know where our next vacations are!) She always knew she would either be a vet or an author, and has done lots-and I mean lots of odd jobs. "I went through a series of jobs -- typing (badly), waiting tables (also badly), and taking care of plants (many of which did actually survive). I'd always known I'd be a writer someday. Or at least I hoped I would be. It was just a question of finally getting serious about it. It turns out that in order to become a writer, you actually have to start writing," she said in an issue of Scope magazine. On writing, Ms. Applegate says, "I want to give readers as accurate an idea as possible of what it would be like to become a completely different species. When Tobias becomes a hawk, I want the reader to see the world as a hawk might see it -- to soar on the warmbreezes and hurtle toward the ground to make a kill. When Marco becomes an ant, I want to convey the ant's lack of individuality, his blind world of scent and touch. When Cassie becomes a dolphin, I want the reader to feel the water rushing past, to experience what it must be like to leap from cold ocean into warm sky." K.A. plays the cello, and is fourtuneatley in a sound-proofed building. She has two cats, Dick is an evil foot-biting cat and the model for Jake's tiger morph. She also likes to read, garden, travel, and shop at the Mega Mall. She has a son named Jake, although she says the Animorph leader isn't his namesake. K.A. Applegate ahs written many books, from pop-ups to YA romances, using a pen name. She actually finds it quite flattering that so many people have 'copied' Animorphs in fanfiction (Says it's a good practice for writng as a profession), websites, and screenames. (She thought it would be a cult hit! Hmm...Pretty large cult...)
-To the Animorphs readers, she says, "Two things. I hope my books help give you respect and awe for the natural world. Animals are at least as incredible and amazing as any alien species. The other thing is that in the books, it's up to kids to save the world. In life, that's true as well."
Well, she did a great job at that! Let's hear a round of applause for K.A. Applegate!
