I never wanted/expected to write a memoir, but this life thing, it has a way of sideswiping our worlds, scaring us so thoroughly that our past lenses of contextualizing events don't work - they cease to matter.

I always joke that every novel is really about the same thing: one person's struggle against society.

It's important to write like your readers are brilliant.

I used to consider myself to be a cineophile, and then I had a daughter. Ha! Now I barely see any movies.

I'll never be the sort of author who sells that many copies. You'll never see a book of mine being sold on a table at Costco, between the extra-large jorts and a barrel of salsa. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll be indie till I die.

I always feel that as the author, once I know what a character is ashamed of, then I can go about making her truthful on the page.

The question why, at least in my life, often leads to despair. Why did this happen to me? Why didn't someone who claimed to love me treat me with respect, compassion, kindness? Etc. These questions never have answers. They are an ocean, and you'll never swim to the other side. Eventually, you'll tire and die.