Jan Adkins: Hi there. My name is Jan Adkins. I'm a writer, an illustrator, and designer, and everyone thinks I'm a woman because Jan is sometimes a woman's name. I get letters addressed to "Ms. Jan Adkins." One of my favorite awards, he Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, is made out to "Ms. Jan Adkins."

Clients who want me to illustrate, or design, or write something, call up and they say, "Is Ms. Jan Adkins there?" I say, "This is he." There's a long silence. And they say, "Uh. Uh. No, no. I want to speak to Ms. Jan Adkins." "No, no, no. There is no Ms. Jan Adkins," I say, "It's me." So, just remember, I'm a guy. And as a guy, I write from a guy's perspective, which isn't that different, come to think of it. Buh-bye.