<BruceBalan> Oi! Kemcho! Hallo! Bonjour!

<Moderator2> <Hawks_9> Where do you get the ideas to write books??

<BruceBalan> I was in the high tech field for a long time and it occured to me that someday kids would be able to email

<BruceBalan> each other all over the world.(This was before the Net). When that happened, I thought that friendships would change and it would be really cool to see what kids did online. That's how I though of Cyber.kdz.

<Moderator> <BookPusher> Mr. Balan, this is from Graham,Where did you get the title for your series?

<BruceBalan> Good question. It was originally called "CyberKids" but then I found out someone had trademarked that name. So I had to think of something else.

<BruceBalan> Cyber.kdz made sense because it was like and email address.

<Moderator1> <Hawks_3> What was the book you enjoyed writing the most?

<BruceBalan> Hard question. I love them all. "In Search of Scum" because it was 1st. "Nasa Flu" because I think the space shuttle is totally cool. "Chips are down" because it is about Sanjeev (who is so cool).

<BruceBalan> So I can't say for sure.

<Moderator2> <PrairieNG> How many years have you been writing

<BruceBalan> My 1st book "The Cherry Migration" will have been published 10 years next month.

<BruceBalan> But I've been writing for longer than that. My first writing assignment (which I hated!) was in 5th grade.

<Moderator123> <Hawks_2> How did you decide to direct your books to teens?

<BruceBalan> 'nother good question. I didn't really. It just made sense since those are the kids who would be emailing and chatting on the Net.

<BruceBalan> It was hard to learn to write for teens (8-11's too) because I had only written for younger kids before.

<Moderator123> <JulienSchoolTurlockCA> Is technology moving faster than you? Are you having trouble think of new technology to use in your writing?

<BruceBalan> Technology moves faster than everything!

<BruceBalan> The problem I have is that sometimes the technology changes before the book comes out.

<BruceBalan> For example, in Cyber.kdz :6, I had to keep upping the processor speed of the stolen chips because computer companies kept inventing faster ones.

<BruceBalan> But I have no lack of ideas from Technology!

<Moderator2> <Curtis2> What was your favorite book when you were little. Jason

<BruceBalan> I just answered this for a Web site. The 3 books I listed were:

<BruceBalan> Go Dog Go

<BruceBalan> The Lorax

<BruceBalan> Charlotte's Web (which is one of the best books written EVER!!!

<Moderator123> <Rangers> How do you keep up with what kids are interested in?

<BruceBalan> I hang out on the Net (chatrooms, BBS's) and I get a lot of fan email from my readers. That helps a lot.

<BruceBalan> Readers are always sending me suggestions (like "why don't you put me in your next book"!)

<Moderator1> <Hawks_8> Who inspired you to become a writer if anyone?

<BruceBalan> I think Dr. Seuss was the most influential author in my life. I love his books and what he has done for reading.

<BruceBalan> He makes people laugh and cry and that is so great.

<BruceBalan> But I have dozens of favorite authors. (Dickens is one.)

<Moderator2> <Hawks_1> what is your favorite place to write you stories?

<BruceBalan> I'm really lucky because my wife has to travel a lot for work and I get to go with her.

<BruceBalan> I wrote CK :1 in Hawaii, CK :2 in Carmel, CK :3 in Greece, CK :5 in Paris. My wife has the perfect job for me. Thanks, Dana!

<BruceBalan> But I also write in my office in my home.

<Moderator123> <Keppel> do you think reading will ever become out of style?

<BruceBalan> NO WAY! Look at the Net, it is so popular and what do you do on the Net... Read! (And write.)

<BruceBalan> The experience of reading is like no other. Movies are a great experience, so are videos, and CD-ROMS.

<BruceBalan> But they are all their OWN experience. Just like books.

<BruceBalan> You can't duplicate the wonderful feeling you get when you curl up in bed and lose yourself in a great book!

<Moderator2> <reader> Beebe wants to know what you would be if you weren't an author.

<BruceBalan> I can't think of doing something else as a job. Maybe a professional sailor who bummed around the world crewing on boats.

<Moderator123> <Hawks_6> are you going to visit any schools in the near future?

<BruceBalan> I visit schools all the time. You can check out my calendar on my Web Site at cyber.kdz.com/balan.

<BruceBalan> It lists all the schools I visit. And has pictures of the students I speak to.

<BruceBalan> I'll also have pictures of my Read In day up there. (Like I did last year).

<Moderator1> <Miraleste3> how do you feel after writing a book?

<BruceBalan> Relieved. Happy. Excited.

<BruceBalan> Especially relieved if I have a deadline that was getting close....

<Moderator2> Jaf6NH> Jaf6NH: Mr. Balan, do you think books will ever be "published" on the web first?

<BruceBalan> They already are.

<BruceBalan> But I think we will always have paper books because it's a lot easier to read them.

<BruceBalan> And more fun.

<BruceBalan> Think about trying to scan through lots of text on the screen compared to thumbing through a book. Books make sense.

<Moderator123> <PennAveSchool> How long does it take to write a book?

<BruceBalan> If I don't do anything else, I can write a Cyber.kdz book in 2 months. That includes a LOT of research.

<BruceBalan> As well as checking all the time zones and dates in all the emails --- that's not much fun!

<Moderator1> <Hawks_2> What one author would you like to meet?

<BruceBalan> Alive or dead?

<Moderator123> <Miraleste2> Do you base your base books on real life events

<BruceBalan> Alive, I'm not sure.

<BruceBalan> Dead: Charles Dickens or Dr. Seuss.

<Moderator123> <Miraleste2> Do you base your base books on real life events

<BruceBalan> Sometimes. I read the news a lot and sometimes things will inspire me.

<BruceBalan> I also put stuff that happened to me in the books. Like the scene in CK :5 where Steve Roberts is sleeping in the park looking across Lake Geneva -- that happened to me. (But I wasn't riding around on BEHEMOTH at the time).

<Moderator2> <Duchesne> How old were you when you knew you wanted to be an author?

<BruceBalan> I decided I was going to be an author when I was 25. It took me 3 years after that to get my first book published.

<Moderator1> <Jessie> How long did it take you to write your first novel?

<BruceBalan> Cyber.kdz :1 took longer than the others because I was just learning how to do it. I think it took about 4.5 months.

<BruceBalan> I got a lot faster as I did more books. Mostly I learned how to organize my plots and my research.

<Moderator123> <Berwick7> When you go somewhere in public do people crowd around you and ask for autographs or do they treat you like a normal person?

<BruceBalan> I wish they'd ask for autographs!

<BruceBalan> No one really knows me when I go out in public (except my wife and my dog).

<Moderator2> <BookPusher> From Karen, How do you keep believing in yourself as a writer, while your waiting for a book to be published?

<BruceBalan> I'm not sure. It helps to have a supportive wife and lots of supportive author friends.

<BruceBalan> But honestly, some days it is difficult.

<BruceBalan> Being an author is sometimes lonely because there isn't a lot of feedback and you work by yourself much of the time.

<Moderator1> <brent_GA> do you like making websites.........we love yours

<BruceBalan> I do. I wish I had more time. I think the cyber.kdz site is cool (cyber.kdz.com) and I have lots of plans for it. But never enough time!

<Moderator123> <fab4th> What kind of books do you like to read.

<BruceBalan> I read lots of books. Lots of kid's books, lots of novels.

<BruceBalan> I think novels are my favorite. But I read some non-fiction, too. And lots of sailing magazines.

<Moderator1> <PennAveSchool> Who did you look up to as a kid?

<BruceBalan> Most everyone, as I was very, very short.

<BruceBalan> But my Dad was a big influence on me.

<Moderator123> <Rangers> What do you find most frustrating about working with computer?

<BruceBalan> This is a GREAT question and I hope the software companies are listening!

<BruceBalan> Software is getting more and more complex and less reliable. It is terrible to have a computer lock up and lose your work because the software gets messed up.

<BruceBalan> And it is hard to get support as software gets more complicated.

<Moderator2> <Keppel> could technology ever surpass mans greatest expectations

<BruceBalan> I'm not sure what that means. What do we expect? I think it is important to remember that, though Technology is really cool, and lots of fun (sometimes), it shouldn't be the focus of our lives. Technology is a tool. Like today. We are using the Technology to communicate. Not to just use technology because it's there.

<BruceBalan> So we have to remember what we want to do with it all.

<Moderator1> One last question...

<Moderator123> <CJHS2_Clover_SC> What do you do in your freetime?

<BruceBalan> I have a sailboat that I work on a lot because someday I want to sail it around the world. I also sail, read and Morris Dance. What's Morris Dancing?

<BruceBalan> Sorry, we are out of time!

<BruceBalan> Thanks everyone for a great Read In!

<BruceBalan> Thanks to the volunteers, Jane Coffey and all of the students and teachers.

<BruceBalan> Stay Gaaf!