I am single and childless, but I have lots of friends and I am an aunt to three lovely children.

Sometimes strange and wonderful things will pop into my head. And sometimes I will see something in the world that is the beginning of a story. I always have a notebook with me so that I can write down what I see and hear.

And hope is like love...a ridiculous, wonderful, powerful thing.

I love words; I love the way they sound. Once I've worked on everything else, the last drafts of my books come down to how they sound.

I am busier now than I ever imagined I would be, but I feel blessed in that I have found what I am supposed to be doing with my life. It's wonderful to tell stories and have people listen to them.

Rob Horton, the main character of The Tiger Rising, was a secondary character in an adult short story I wrote, and he wouldn't go away after I'd finished the short story. I couldn't figure out what he wanted, so I wrote to find out.

What was it like...to have someone who knew you would always return and who welcomed you with open arms?