I have this idea of myself as this quiet, observant, thoughtful child, which my parents roundly contradict. They claim that I was loud and bossy and dancing all the time.

What's great about good writing is that it feels like life, so it's not hard to relate to her circumstances.

I'm a middle child, and I'm pretty diplomatic: the peace-maker.

I certainly enjoyed having my sister, because when she came I felt a certain responsibility to help her fit in, and help her learn English. I wanted her to play with all my toys. I was actually, I think, really scary to her, because I had so much energy.

I'm a big reader, so I tend to already know the books when they're adapted into something.

It's often women who are writing leading roles for women. Most of the stuff that comes my way is not actually about women. I'm just asked to be a supporting player in a story about a man, and I, frankly, was not interested in doing that.

Why do we insist women are cast 10 years younger than the role they're playing? Men don't know what a 30-year-old is supposed to look like because on TV she's always 20.