You say their stories, it is gift they give you.

My father and I did work for a while at the flea market and there really are rows of Afghans working there, some of whom I am related to.

The images [of The Kite Runner grafic] were created in Fabio Celoni's mind. I chose to let him take the lead. Fabio and I did exchange an e-mail or two, but it was my intention to step out of the way and let his artistic instincts take over.

I’m all you have in this world Mariam, and when I’m gone you’ll have nothing. You ARE nothing!

In March of 2001, I revisited the short story, and found that thought it did not work well as a short story, it might work much better as a longer one. The novel [The Kite Runner] came about as an expansion of that original, unpublished short story.

I started a foundation, called The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. The mission has been to help the most vulnerable groups in Afghanistan. So the focus has been on women, children, and homeless refugees, most of whom are in fact women and children.

You see, some things I can teach you. Some you learn from books. But there are things that, well, you have to see and feel.