I wrote a paper [in school] on [William] Faulkner and no one could tell what the sentences meant.

As for anticipation, you never know what to expect of a book. They're like kids: you bring them into the world, fret about them, and then at some point there's no other option but to turn them lose and see how they do.

The Night Journal received two awards that I'm terribly proud of - -the Spur from Western Writers of America, and the Willa Literary Award from Women Writing the West. Both these groups are filled with great writers and good people.

The author with the greatest influence on me is my friend Stephen Harrigan, who critiques everything I write before I even bother to show it to my agent or editor. He's a truly great writer - author of Gates of the Alamo and other books you might know of, and his instincts about what's working in a story, and what's not, are just about perfect. My books would be very different without his influence.

I love the writers in Austin. We stick together. We all like each other and go to each other's book signings in case no one else shows up.

It took me ten years to write The Night Journal, so that was a big ordeal.

I wrote a paper [in school] on [William] Faulkner and no one could tell what the sentences meant.