"When I was a kid, my dad read all the time, mostly westerns and thrillers. I was fascinated by the books, even though I knew they were too ‘adult’ for me, that I wasn’t quite ready to read them. When I turned fourteen, my dad gave me a birthday gift—a book called A Prayer for the Dying by the great Jack Higgins. It was a concise, powerful page-turner about a world-weary IRA hitman trying to do the right thing. I loved the characters and the plot, plus it was set in Ireland, where my dad’s family emigrated from. That book sent me down the road to reading more and more thrillers. And then eventually writing them. I still have that now battered paperback and re-read it from time to time just to feel connected to my dad."

"The first movie I ever saw in my life, interestingly enough, was The Gods Must Be Crazy. It was a South African movie. It’s ironic that years later, the next most commercially successful film from South Africa after The Gods Must Be Crazy is District 9. The effect was kind of an early imprint that South Africa belonged in motion pictures. Because there was nothing else for years, as I became an adult — or even a young man — I kind of realized it didn’t. Everything that South Africa made was terrible that I subsequently saw. Usually I was just ashamed of it. I was like, “Oh God, we make terrible television, we make terrible movies.” And even with Marius Weyers doing the South African accent — something that was uniquely South African and African could be commercial was just imprinted in my brain."

"Another movie my dad took me to see. Why? I don’t remember him asking me if I wanted to go to the movies, necessarily, nor if he explained what we were going to see, and I’m sure I don’t remember him talking to me after the fact about what we had seen. I went because it was my dad + the movies. How did he choose? ’Round Midnight, Pumping Iron . . . Walkabout. I remember seeing Walkabout (I was very young, a preteen), and for a long time I remembered much about it. When I saw it as an adult I saw so much that I had not remembered but must still have been there inside of me. Scary. And great, I guess? Walkabout helped begin an awareness of significant otherliness, and maybe helped reinforce the idea that otherliness is not really sanctioned."

"NOGGIN is headed for greatness and is without a doubt my favorite YA book. I won't go into plot or anything because that would mean getting aHEAD of ourselves since it doesn't pub until next April, but for anyone who's read WHERE THINGS COME BACK, I promise you that NOGGIN is a follow-up that will blow your head off your shoulders. I've never cried reading a book before - and I've read many, many books - but there was a beautiful scene that transformed me from robot to human and that's a testament to Corey's writing. There are so many lines in this novel that only HE could've written and they're fantastic. If you're a teenager or adult or robot, you'll love NOGGIN and admire how Corey manages to get into the head of his character. (Pun pun pun pun.)"