But it was the combination of the YouTube video blog he’s nurtured with his brother Hank Green for the last seven years - and his adept advanced marketing for “Fault,” which included editing the first chapter at a live event - that launched him into the stratosphere. The Florida native, who now lives in Indiana with his wife and two young children, wrote his first young adult book, “Looking for Alaska,” in 2005 and followed that with two more novels, “An Abundance of Katherines” in 2006 and “Paper Towns” in 2008.
Though he’s a novelist, he clearly understands the power of the moving image - and how to leverage his celebrity. With an infectious enthusiasm for those around him, a facility with impromptu storytelling and a personality that features a strange mix of humility and bravura, Green is a commanding presence, more eager socializer than the introverted observer associated with his profession. “I think you did an awesome job,” he said. After an emotional scene featuring young actress Lily Kenna, who shaved her head to play protagonist Hazel Grace at age 11, he pulled her into a hug and thanked her for her performance.