I'm a writer. I should be allowed to speak about my writing at times. And I'm really excited to speak about that. There's nothing I am shameful of or anything else in my novels. They are my children and I'm happy to speak about my children.

As a fiction writer, of course, you need to take some leeway with certain aspects of history to make the story work.

People will say that Canada, unlike America, was not birthed from violence. But I want to say, "What are you talking about?" It's just not true.

Compared to Americans, Canadians are often more gentle in their approach to things. They're much more apologetic. There's less room for conflict.

From a craft standpoint, telling a story in the first-person present tense over the course of 500 pages is a daunting challenge.

The history needs to serve the story, not the story the history. But at the same time you can't stray too far.

The beliefs of Native people are no less powerful or important just because they focus on a different "form of magic."