She knows that whispers can be useful. Sometimes they contain real information. But usually they're fairy tales and lies. This is the worst kind of whisper, the kind that draws you in, gives you hope.

As a writer, my main objective is to tell the story urgently - as if whispering it into one ear - and to know the characters intimately.

I've never thought there was anything I could hope to get by praying for it.

I prefer a cluttered workspace.

The generation of women who came before us did much of our shouting. They laid the groundwork and now we can be calm and constant and steady.

Women are constantly underestimated in our power, our reach, our collective pull.

And I know I'm supposed to feel guilty for wanting people to buy my books... and books in general? Novels and poetry, they belong to the realm of art. How dirty of us to try to hawk art! But, after a decade of hand-wringing and apologies, I can't quite muster the guilt anymore.