I grew up in a family that loved literature and theater. My mother, Sheila Soloman Klass, is a college English professor who has published eighteen novels, including many for young adults. My father, Morton Klass, was a professor of anthropology at Barnard College. But before my dad took up anthropology, he was a science fiction writer and editor, and even while teaching and raising a family, he found time to play roles in productions of the local theater guild. My older sister, Perri, is a doctor who has written extensively on women in medicine and has won several O. Henry Awards for her short stories. And my younger sister, Judy, is a playwright.
In such a family it's hard not to be a writer, but I almost managed it. I was a reluctant reader -- the other members of my family always seemed to be devouring three or four books at a time, but I had other interests. I loved sports, and would play until it got dark -- baseball, soccer, basketball, tennis, bowling, and golf.
I remember my parents bringing books home from the library that they thought would interest me. Sometimes they hit it right -- I developed an early love of adventure stories. Jack London was a favorite author, and Robert Louis Stevenson, and Alexandre Dumas. My father would read to us every night from his own favorite books, using his acting ability to make the books dramatic and give each of the characters a funny and distinctive voice.
