Anthony was sad. He was, as he put it, "not very bright" and couldn't win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his "clever" older brother. At age 8, Anthony was sent away to a boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded with his parents year after year not to send him. "The thought was ,it would be good for me," he recalled. It was not. Anthony did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied for five years. "My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me," he said. "I wasn't even smart enough to rebel. The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was the desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer." Now, at 55, Anthony is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies,and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, has come out. The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16. Anthony says he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way." I have a feeling that it has something to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action," he said. The style has also made Anthony a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story. Now, Anthony couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success:"...you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely." What advice does Anthony give to readers?
Confidence is the key to success. Hardship teaches valuable lessons. Internet is the best teacher. Failure is the mother of success.