In 1998, I started a blog, something I could control very easily and update at my own whim.

I love reading books that you can't put down, and they just take you over for a night or a weekend.

I've been told by people who write historical novels that you just sort of write the emotional truth first, the story at the core, and then you go back and research it at the end.

My laptop broke and because of the storm I could not get a new one. And so I've been promoting my book via iPhone.

What I try very hard to do is have an hour or so in the morning when I leave the house and don't have my phone with me. I'll go sit in a cafe and read and handwrite in my notebook and not be facing a screen. My head will be clear. I will be able to hear myself think. Because honestly for the rest of the day it's just screens, screens, screens.

Studying writing to me means reading and also rewriting obsessively. That's the best way to learn.

People judge you because of your weight and your food issues. It's very visual.