Three Faces of Me

When Ira Fishman wins a prize in the machine outside a candy store, he’s disappointed it’s not the squirt gun he had his eye on. The little black plastic box looks like a camera, but when Ira presses the green button on top, nothing happens.

After dinner that night, Ira can’t believe what he sees in his room: a boy with the same clothes―and face―as Ira! He tries to get this second Ira to leave, but it’s no use. Deciding to have a little fun, Ira makes the boy go to school in his place―but it’s a disaster. The new Ira isn’t good at math like the real Ira, and he’s horrible at softball. Worst of all, he plays with the girls during recess! Ira’s clone is ruining his rep―fast. And when a third Ira shows up, Ira number one has to find a way to make the others disappear for good before his whole world is turned upside down. But how do you get rid of yourself?

R.L. (Robert Lawrence) Stine is one of the best-selling children’s authors in history. His Goosebumps series, along with such series as Fear Street, The Nightmare Room, Rotten School, and Mostly Ghostly have sold nearly 400 million books in this country alone. And they are translated into 32 languages.

The Goosebumps TV series was the top-rated kids’ series for three years in a row. R.L.’s TV movies, including The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It and Mostly Ghostly, are perennial Halloween favorites. And his scary TV series, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, is in its second season on The Hub network.

R.L. continues to turn out Goosebumps books, published by Scholastic. In addition, his first horror novel for adults in many years, titled Red Rain, will be published by Touchstone books in October, 2012.

R.L. says that he enjoys his job of “scaring kids.” But the biggest thrill for him is turning kids on to reading.

R.L. lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, an editor and publisher, and King Charles Spaniel, Minnie. His son, Matthew, is a sound designer and music producer.