William Warner Sleator III says that he began writing when very young and that even then he was interested in the weird aspects of life.

He was raised among a family of scientists, but he was interested in the arts, becoming a pianist, composer, and writer. Perhaps his combination of interests in art and science led to his interest in science fiction, which he read avidly. He was born to William Warner, Jr., a college professor in physiology, and Esther Kaplan Sleator, a pediatrician, in Havre de Grace, Maryland, on February 13, 1945.

By high school, he was composing music that reflected his preoccupation with the macabre, giving his works titles such as "Guillotines in Springtime." He entered Harvard as a music major; he says that he was miserable at Harvard, with his unhappiness reflected in unhappy compositions. He seems to have been very productive while...