Our house was awash in books, and my mother doled out her favorites like they were special treats - which they were.

The book that made a lasting impression was the one my mother gave each of us when she decided we were ready for our first "adult novel," Lucy Maud Montgomery's The Blue Castle.

Phoebe Wolkind Ephron cracked wise like Dorothy Parker and looked like Katharine Hepburn.

For me, a good YA novel is the best kind of comfort food.

Our house was awash in books, and my mother doled out her favorites like they were special treats - which they were.

Write what you care about, what interests and intrigues you.

I was an outsider, never quite part of what was going on, always looking in. It turned out to be great preparation for writing fiction.