It's been very hard, after being mostly a mom, to develop an adult life of my own. And not being married anymore, I have to come up with challenges.

Things work out the way they're meant to

You don't need to show off your body to catch a boy's eye. You'd best learn that early on, or you'll be bringing home the worst sort of boy.

Not all forms of abuse leave bruises.

The usual way - through a long series of rejections, revising my manuscripts, and kept trying again and again. Finally I was fortunate enough to find a good agent.

I grew up with my father, so I know more about cars than most women.

I'm surprisingly practical in much of my life, but not when it comes to my shoes.