Like all of his other books, Lemony's new autobiography comes with plenty of warnings for readers.

Warning: If you want to meet a successful writer who delights children with happy stories, then stop reading and turn off your computer now. But if you like reading dark but funny tales about a trio of miserable, ill-fated orphans, then join the millions of fans who love author Lemony Snicket! His Series of Unfortunate Events has sold more than a million copies and may soon be made into movies. TFK News Team reporter Laura Winters caught the infamous author in Naperville, Illinois, on May 9. That's where Snicket greeted fans and signed copies of his new book, Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, at a local bookstore.

Laura sat down for a talk with Snicket's official "spokesman," Daniel Handler. (Handler and Snicket are actually the same person, but please don't tell anyone!) Get the complete, authorized Q&A below.

TFK: My friends say they like your, errr . . . I mean Mr. Snicket's books because they make them feel like their lives are better than the Baudelaire orphans'. Is that what they're supposed to do?
Handler: I think Mr. Snicket writes these books to tell a different story, because there are plenty of books that end happily.

TFK: Is he ever going to write books about happy children?
Handler: I think that (he will) if he comes across any happy children in his research.

TFK: After writing about the Baudelaire orphans, what does he do to cheer himself up?
Handler: I think Lemony Snicket, just like me, enjoys a nice game of bridge. And likes to curl up with a book that he's read a lot.

TFK: I heard that Nickelodeon is making movies out of your, errr . . . I mean Mr. Snicket's books. Will he be involved in them?
Handler: No, Mr. Snicket won't, but I'll be writing the script.

TFK: Will you be involved behind the scenes at all?
Handler: Like holding lights? Well I think the writer usually gets to visit the set to make sure everything is going well.

Signs of the secretive Mr. Snicket were everywhere at Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville, Illinois.

TFK: What advice do you have for kids who want to be writers?
Handler: Always carry a notebook. I actually have one right now. I'm offering it as proof in case you think that I am a phony. One of the nice things about being a writer is that you can find great new notebooks and carry them around.

You should [also] learn how to eavesdrop on conversations and not be caught. Do you know how to do that? I say drop something over by the door and bend over to pick it up. Lemony Snicket says that's a good one. Also, you have to pretend that you are not listening. Like if you were at the movies, you can eavesdrop on the person sitting next to you, but you have to stare out into space to pretend that there is no way you could be listening.

TFK: Do you have any pets?
Handler: No, but a dog would be nice!

TFK: What's the most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?
Handler: It was in Iceland! It was rotten shark. They catch shark and then they bury it raw in the snow for like three months. Then they dig it up and they eat it. It was the worst thing I've ever eaten! It felt like cheese and tasted like rotten fish!

TFK: What's the most boring thing in the world to you?
Handler: Folding laundry. I'm okay to do the laundry, but that folding part I'd pay other people to do!

Author Daniel Handler shares some Lemony-fresh writing secrets with reporter Laura Winters.

TFK: What would you be if you weren't a writer?
Handler: I'd be a teacher. I'd teach English.

TFK: What were your favorite and least favorite subjects in school?
Handler: I always liked English, and I hated P.E. (physical education). In physical education all we had to do was run around in the circle! Then we had those Presidential Fitness Tests where the President decreed that we had to do a certain number of push-ups and sit-ups. That really made me hate Ronald Reagan.

TFK: What were your favorite books as a kid?
Handler: Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl, The Blue Osbick by Edward Gorey, and The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

TFK: Did you ever dress up for Halloween?
Handler: Yes.

TFK: What was your favorite costume?
Handler: I had this really great octopus costume. It had a bunch of extra legs that had fishing wire in between them so I could move them all at once, but you couldn't see them. I still dress up every year for Halloween. Last year I was a ladybug.

As a writer and a musician, Handler strikes a chord with kids. Here he steps up to the mike with some songs and accordion tunes.

TFK: Why do you like playing the accordion, anyway?
Handler: I took up the accordion in college because I wanted to drive my parents crazy. I also wanted to play the piano without lugging the piano around everywhere.

I also have a friend that writes a song for each of the Unfortunate Events books. You can hear the songs at the end of the audio recordings of the books. I sang one of his songs earlier, "The Ballad of Count Olaf." On the audio recordings, I play accordion and some other really cool instruments, like bug boxes.

TFK: Do you know when Mr. Snicket's next book will come out?
Handler: I think in October.

TFK: After Mr. Snicket's 13th (and final) Unfortunate Events book, do you know what he wants to do?
Handler: He hopes to live to the 13th book. If you've read the books, you know that Mr. Snicket is putting himself in a great deal of danger, so he hopes he can survive until the 13th book.