I think we're always in some ways writing to the teachers who gave us early love.

Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.

It is not like a premonition of death. It is as if she died a long time ago, and she just now remembered it.

I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. You have some basic ideas - a character, or an image, or a situation that sounds compelling - and then you just feel your way around until you find the edges of your story. It's like going into a dark room... you stumble around until you find the walls and then inch your way to the light switch.

You can't tell people how to feel when they read your work. You can only hope to connect.

Maybe it's because I grew up during the MTV generation, but to me a perfect song is one I can imagine a music video to, a song that can take you into a dream.

People write fiction in their minds all the time - every time we read a 'human interest' news story, or a true crime tale, we find ourselves fascinated because we're trying to understand why people behave the way they do, why they make the choices they do, how we become who we become.