Thanks to the comic book publishers. Batman and Captain Marvel were responsible for my learning to read at least a year before I showed up at school. They got me interested in writing. Started my first novel at about eight. The title: 'The Canals of Mars.'

I've tried to quit writing several times, but I enjoy it too much.

My father used to take me to the movies on Saturdays. In 1940, when I was four years old, we encountered 'Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.' I loved it. Especially the rocket ship, which I later realized had no airlock and no washroom. But they managed to get to Mongo with it.

One SF prediction that I would like very much to see: Get solar collectors launched to beam energy back home, and get away from fossil fuels.

Education technology and school construction go together. Modernization, updating education facilities, and making a capital investment in education are all included.

I was a member of the Fab Five at the University of Michigan, but I was also on the Dean's List there. I took pride in my education.

My dad's a scientist, and my mom's a teacher, so I didn't grow up in a family that was into the entertainment world at all.

In 1965, I was teaching a seminar on freedom when I told my students that the ultimate freedom lay in casting a dice to decide what to do. They were so shocked and fascinated that I knew I had to write the book.