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

Some questions will ruin you if you are denied the answer long enough.

The music I listen to while writing is really scene-specific. It's just a great motivator, a way to put myself in the mood.

I see music as an aid. It overcomes my internal editor, especially when the music evokes the character or the mood I'm trying to build.

The map had been the first form of misdirection, for what is a map but a way of emphasizing some things and making other things invisible?

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.

When they give you things, ask yourself why. When you're grateful to them for giving you the things you should have anyway, ask yourself why.