I'm a writer of faith. I was raised Catholic, and I have a deeply Catholic imagination.

I try not to divide plot and character. I get to know a character by what they want and fear and how those internal forces play out in their lives.

I was born in the era of the novel. I've written many, as well as collections of poetry, and essays for mouthing off. I've written to inches, word-counts, page-counts, even the sonnet and the screenplay (which I call a plot poem). I write narrative. That's it. I just want to tell it.

I don't know when I'm writing dark. I don't know when I'm writing funny or even heartbreaking. I'm always just trying to write it true.

A good novel doesn't just transcend the boundaries of its target market - it knows nothing about target markets.

The fact is there are many women who nod politely, even agree openly within their male-dominated often highly educated cultures, but vote their own minds.

I am deeply Catholic and always will be, but I'm no longer a member of the church. I left in 2003 because of the sex abuse scandal.