My husband says I have too much imagination, but I don't think a writer can have too much imagination!

When you ask, did writing change my life? It totally changed my life. It gave me my life.

I have like two dreams a week that I have to write a paper that I'm late with or that I've gone back to high school and have to do that in addition to my current job.

I was sick all the time, one exotic illness after another, which lasted throughout my twenties. My worst decade. But from the day the first book was accepted, I never got sick again. Writing changed my life.

It's strange, but when it comes right down to it I never do fall apart--even when I'm sure I will.

With "Margaret," I remember clearly it was, you know because I did remember it clearly. I was young. I was young in terms of experience and what did I know about and I had an incredible memory from my own childhood. And so it never occurred to me to write for any other age group. And I thought I'm going to write a book and I'm going to tell the truth.

You've got to enjoy whatever you can and forget about the rest.