I always said that, when I grow up, I want to be like Joss Whedon: I want to have my own world.

The acting is something that will always be a part of my life, but the writing gives me a lot more creative freedom. You're a pawn in somebody else's chess game, whereas as a writer and as a director, you get to call the shots. And that's very thrilling.

I've always been a big fan of books.

Life is short, and I'd rather be sitting in the poor house doing what I love doing than making a lot of money and being miserable. Life is very short.

I think people are starting to think of me less as an actor and more as a writer.

Mindi Scott has a real talent for getting inside her protagonist's head. She sketches out Coley's story in grand swathes, and then paints in all the little details, so that you feel as though you are enmeshed in Coley's brain: thinking her thoughts, feeling her confusion, anger, and, in the end, pain. I just don't think it's possible to read this book and not identify with Coley in some way.

I'm not a big hijinker. I'm a big sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er.