I do believe very much in the idea of unexpected or "convulsive" beauty - beauty in the service of liberty.

You could know the what of something forever and never discover the why.

My mother is an artist, and I have a strong visual sense. I almost always choose the cover art for my books. I've learned that the more I collaborate, like by having someone do a soundtrack to one of my books, the more I see my own work differently.

I have always tended toward a lush prose style, but I take care to modulate it from story to story and to strip it down entirely when necessary.

History has shown us all too often the consequences of dreaming poorly or not at all.

Nothing that lived and breathed was truly objective—even in a vacuum, even if all that possessed the brain was a self-immolating desire for the truth.

I have received emails from readers who have said that they were emotionally impacted by the books, and they feel they are more environmentally aware and energized to do more. So that's hopeful to me. It is at least evidence of what I'm trying to do - trying to convey very intense emotional experiences by being very close in on character points of view to make you feel it in your body. That's one way to get the point across, by evoking a visceral response.