Hoge lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife and two daughters. His new book, for readers age 8 and up, is called Ugly.
On how he explained his deformities to other kids growing up
Normally with one quick and short answer. So, you know, kids would ask me, "Why have you got bumps on your head?" or "Why have you got a squished nose?" or "Why don't you have any legs?" And I would simply say, "I was born that way." And probably nine times out of 10, the questions wouldn't go much further than that. ... That satisfied them, and it certainly satisfied me.
On going against his doctors' advice when he decided to opt out of the surgery
I have genuine love and affection for the massive changes all of the doctors and nurses who worked on me made to my life. But doctors are tinkerers. They're always in the back shed thinking, "If we moved that nose up half an inch, it'd look so much better." But I think, you know, thinking about it now, I'm never going to look like Brad Pitt or George Clooney, so I think I should just stick with my rather distinctive face and go from there.