I was born in Philadelphia and currently live in Minneapolis. I write for both children and adults.

There's a Buddhist precept that the only thing you deserve is the chance to do the work, and I've been given the chance to do the work.

My favorite food is deep-fried ravioli. I always get that every year.

We were 15 minutes into it and nothing was happening; I thought, well, that's not going to work. Then all of a sudden everything clicked. I don't know how long it took us, but I would just show up at Alison's [McGhee] office. She would type and we'd just kick it back and forth. Writing is so scary for me, such a lonely endeavor, and it became a wonderful thing to show up and have somebody else go through it with me. It was actually a wonderful experience.

It is always just telling a story, regardless of the age of the reader. Except, if I'm writing something for kids, I know there has to be hope. I don't necessarily feel that responsibility for adults, but I emphatically feel it for children. That's the only difference. There's no syntax difference. There's no semantics difference. There's no thematic difference.

There can be a lot of longevity in the repetition of things being told again and again in a variety of ways.

The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.