I didn't really choose to write; I more or less fell into it.

For my own family, I would always choose the makeshift, surrogate family formed by various characters unrelated by blood.

For me, writing something down was the only road out...I hated childhood, and spent it sitting behind a book waiting for adulthood to arrive. When I ran out of books I made up my own. At night, when I couldn't sleep, I made up stories in the dark.

There's surprisingly little difference between writing from a male angle and from a female angle, but I feel more restricted in my language when I'm writing as a male character because males tend to sound less emotionally expressive than females.

And I am interested in the fact that class is very much a factor in America, even though it's not supposed to be.

I do write long, long character notes - family background, history, details of appearance - much more than will ever appear in the novel. I think this is what lifts a book from that early calculated, artificial stage.

I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get