Here, KA talks about the end of Animorphs...

Why Rachel?
Ah, poor Rachel. It didn't have to be Rachel, but it had to be someone because I couldn't leave the series with the conclusion that somehow this war came out all right, no harm done, let's get on with the victory celebration. Animorphs is basically a war story. In wars people die, even good guys, even heroes. Even the most just and necessary war (and yes, I believe in just wars) is a terrible waste of money and lives, a horror visited alike on the winners and losers. So I had to show that.

Do you believe in aliens? Is it possible that if aliens do exist…that they are actually a kinder and gentler species than what you wrote about?
I suspect that there are other intelligent races out there somewhere. Do I believe in them? I can't believe in something without proof. I suspect they exist, I'd bet on it, but I can't say "I believe" till they show up and start buying my books. Could they be better people than the Yeerks? Sure. Could they be worse? Sure. Could they be nicer some years and meaner other years? Sure. In fact humans are all that.

Did you have to separate yourself from the characters, they must feel like a part of you at this point?
I'll miss them. I miss Christopher from Everworld because he was fun and challenging to write. I miss Jake the most from Animorphs, which is strange because when I was writing Marco and Cassie were always my favorite characters. I was never that fond of Jake, possibly because he was such a responsible character and I'm not that way. But as I was writing the last two books it became more and more clear to me that Jake was the character I wanted to focus on. And, I suppose, when I'm 92 and on my death bed and people ask me who was the character I cared most about, I'll probably answer, "Eh? Is there any more rice pudding? Where are my teeth?"

The series comes to a dramatic end, the Animorphs seem to have won the battle, but have they really?
I deliberately left some ambiguity. I like ambiguity. I didn't know how to end the last book till I was writing the last few chapters. The idea of leaving everyone hanging made me smile.

Fighting Yeerks is some pretty heavy stuff for a kid. What impact will it have on the rest of their lives? Do you think they will need counseling? And most importantly, will Tobias ever love again?
I suspect our kids will have some very interesting nightmares for the rest of their lives. I think in real life some people shrug off stress and trauma, and others are destroyed by it. And I suspect that the same person who can move easily past one type of pain may be defeated entirely by another. In my mind Cassie and Marco and Ax would be the least affected. Jake and Tobias each had a harder path, in some ways. And Rachel, had she lived, would probably have done poorly. As for Tobias finding true love again, I guess I doubt it. He always did take life too seriously, poor boy.

In the wake of the recent violence in American schools, do you think kids are able to separate what's real and what's a book of fiction?
Yes. If you can't separate fiction from reality you have a mental illness, and that's a different issue. Do I think violent movies, games, music and books cause violence in schools? They have the same violent movies, games, music and books in Britain, France, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands . . . What they don't have in those countries is guns. Every societal factor that Americans blame for violence is present in societies that have a tiny fraction of our murder rate. Guns are the difference. You can't kill someone with an Eminem CD.

There was a lot of merchandizing of Animorphs product, do feel that it got to be too much? Do you have a Marco transformer?
There was merchandise? Huh. No one told me. Certainly no one wrote me a check.

In book #51 the governor's husband was taken over by a Yeerk, what current U.S. politician(s) do you think are particularly susceptible to mind control?
You don't need to infest a politician to control him: just make a nice, fat campaign contribution. If the Yeerks had been really smart they'd have hired lobbyists. You'd have Congressman touting the benefits of alien domination, Senators offering tax breaks for the construction of Yeerk Pools, and the President holding a rally with Visser Three and declaring him to be "the kind of leader we can work with."

Any final thoughts?
Final thoughts? Well, I wish I'd stayed out of the stock market. I'm sorry I ever started back putting cream in my coffee. I still think Ben and Jerry's is pretty darned good ice cream, and even the frozen yogurt isn't bad. I'm glad Napster lost. I think the obsession with school testing is stupid. I can't understand why anyone watches wrestling. I wish my dog would stop eating his own poop. I . . . Oh, you mean any final thoughts about the books. Oh. Okay. In that case, no. I'm on to the next project.

I would just add, to all the fans: thanks.