The child from 9 to 12 interests me very much. And so, those were the years that I like to write about, when I'm writing.

I always had stories inside my head and one day I just decided to start writing them down. I didn't actually decide.

Do not let anyone discourage you. If they try: get determined, not depressed.

"Margaret" was just my truth. It was what I knew to be true about sixth grade.

I was Little Miss Perfect. That's where all the secrets come in, because you know damn well you are not perfect, but you think your parents want you to be. And so you pretend.

When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a cowgirl, a detective, a spy, a great actress, or a ballerina. Not a dentist, like my father, or a homemaker, like my mother - and certainly not a writer, although I always loved to read.

My mother was a cracker jack typist. And she would come in and sit at my house and type the final type script before I would then send it to the publisher. And it was nice for us.