This isn't a fairy tale. It's New York City.

I wrote poetry, journals, and, especially, plays for the neighborhood kids to perform. I had an ordinary, happy childhood. Nothing much was going on, but I had fun.

It would be so great to have someone my own age to talk to, even if it was just about books.

Every girl pretends she is a princess at one point, no matter how little her life is like that.

I am a princess. I do not follow fashions--I make them.

I was painfully shy, and I had tremendous difficulty making friends. So, lacking friends, I watched other people. Watching is something all writers must do, and it was in junior high that I learned to do it.

I have a great deal of empathy for anyone who's having a hard time. I believe this ability to see another's viewpoint has served me well as a writer.