Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Tales of the Madman Underground is John Barnes' first young-adult novel. He has previously published 27 novels—all science fiction. No wonder he has a thing for Philip K. Dick. (Source)
Barnes was inspired to write Tales of the Madman Underground because of the similarity between the misunderstanding of school psychiatry in the early 1970s and the stigma against mental illness in the present day. (Source)
Writing isn't John Barnes' only talent—he also has a Ph.D. in theater from the University of Pittsburgh. Now we know where Paul's talent comes from. (Source)