I was really drawn to thinking about the women in my life. Thinking about my mother, who's a very powerful force on me. And I have these two very strong sisters who took up a lot of imaginary space in my life.

I think that most of my writer friends are really compulsive. I think that's great. It's wonderful for them. It's just not my bag. It's not the way I work. But again, it's probably why my friend has ten books out and I have two.

You think people hate a fat person? Try a fat person who's trying to get thin.

Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love your own.

When I was thinking about these women characters, no matter how bad a person I am - a bad writer, my limitations, my sexism, you know - the thought was, it would be useful as a writer to try to create a template for all the male writers, especially Dominican male writers, especially males of color, of how a writer can use seeing to create more nuanced representations of women.

People can say what they want, but historically, feminism in the Dominican Republic has been extremely strong.

If we do not begin to practice the muscles of having a possessive investment in each other's oppressions, then we are in some serious trouble.