He makes his living scaring children and has been called the Stephen King of children’s books.

“Goosebumps” author, R.L. Stine sat down with mediabistroTV to talk about how finding a typewriter at the age of nine started him on his journey to becoming one of the most successful children’s book authors in history.

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In the video embedded above, the great R.L. Stine explains how he discovered Ray Bradbury for the first time as a kid lost in the library.

The experience would spawn a life-long love of literature and help launch a long writing career. It’s a story that will warm the hearts of all the librarians and aspiring writers in the audience. You never know how a book can change somebody’s life.

Check it out: “Fabled scary author R.L. Stine recounts the time his mother dropped him off at the local library in his home town of Bexley, Ohio. As a child who only read comics, R.L. staggered around the shelves in confusion, bitter that the library didn’t stock his beloved reading material. A kindly librarian spotted his plight and approached, changing his life forever.”

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What happens when a bestselling series for kids becomes a full-blown Internet fad?

In the video embedded above, Goosebumps creator R. L. Stine discussed the BERKS meme, a viral photograph of a girl with braces holding up his scary novels for kids. Stine also talked about his cameo role in the hilarious Gersberms video at Nerdist.

Next week, MediabistroTV’s My First Big Break show will release a video interview with the novelist about the early days of his career.

R.L. Stine,  the author of the popular Goosebumps horror series for kids, has been busy lately: tweeting scary stories and publishing Red Rain, his first novel for adults.

We caught up with Stine to discuss writing tips, challenging himself and his favorite scary books. Check out the highlights from our interview below…

Q: What’s your advice for aspiring horror writers?

A: There’s no formula. I think you have to create a very close point of view. You have to be in the eyes of the narrator. Everything that happens, all the smells, all the sounds; then your reader starts to identify with that character and that’s what makes something really scary.

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Here are some literary events to jump-start your week. To get your event posted on our calendar, visit our Facebook Your Literary Event page. Please post your event at least one week prior to its date.

Celebrated horror writer R.L. Stine will be talking about his adult novel, Red Rain, at Barnes & Noble Upper East Side. Hear him on Monday, October 22nd starting 7 p.m. (New York, NY)

Dexter actor Michael C. Hall and The Wisdom of Psychopaths author Kevin Dutton will discuss what makes psychopaths happy at the Rubin Museum of Art. Check it out on Wednesday, October 24th starting 7 p.m. (New York, NY)

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R.L. Stine, the author of the popular Goosebumps horror series for kids, gave his nearly 45,000 followers a free story this afternoon on Twitter.

The novelist tweeted a mini-horror story about a haunted kitchen. We’ve collected the posts below for your reading pleasure.

In January, Stine published Goosebumps Hall of Horrors #5: Don’t Scream.

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The new serial novel No Rest for the Dead features writing contributions by 25 thriller writers, including Sandra Brown, Jeffrey Deaver, R.L. Stine, Gayle Lynds and Alexander McCall Smith. Novelist David Baldacci wrote the introduction to the charity novel.

Strand magazine managing editor Andrew Gulli and Lamia Gulli edited four-year project. Proceeds from the Simon & Schuster novel will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, honoring the memory of Andrew’s mother.

Here’s more about the serial novel: “When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco’s McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death.”

International Thriller Writers named Goosebumps author R.L. Stine (pictured, via) Thrillermaster for the ThrillerFest VI. Stine recently launched the Hall of Horrors series with book one, Claws, in March.

In addition, Fall of Giants author Ken Follett will be teaching a novel writing class during the CraftFest portion of the annual conference. The conference will also feature AgentFest–a two-hour period where aspiring writers can pitch their proposals in three-minute sessions. Sixty agents have agreed to participate.

Other special guests who will be in attendance include authors Robert Crais, Diana Gabaldon, and John Lescroart. The event will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City from July 6th to July 9th.

Time magazine rounded up a list of 140 Twitter feeds “that are shaping the conversation.”

In the “news feed” category, Portuguese librarian Jose Afonso Furtado was picked for “his unadulterated love for all things books and publishing-related to the Twittersphere.” Eight writers were listed in the “authors” category including Margaret Atwood, R.L. Stine, and Neil Gaiman.

Two literary-themed feeds made the cut in the “fictional characters” group; Drunk Hulk and Lord Voldemort. In a “Who Do You Follow?” poll, the most readers followed Drunk Hulk and Gaiman. We unmasked Drunk Hulk last year in an interview feature.