In early 1999, I was watching TV, when I came across a story on Afghanistan. It was a story about the Taliban and the restrictions they were imposing on the Afghan people, most notably women. At some point in the story, there was a casual reference to them having banned the game of kite fighting. This detail struck a personal chord with me, as I had grown up in Kabul flying kite with my friends.

In many parts of the world, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. But I think we need women to solve the problems that men create.

And that, ...is the story of our country, one invasion after another...Macedonians. Saddanians. Arabs. Mongols. Now the Soviets. But we're like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.

I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.

People in the countryside carry a sense of dignity. They wear it, don't they? Like a badge? I'm being genuine.

The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don't like to read.

If you connect emotionally with the plight of those characters, ou feel what they feel and you walk away with a sense of understanding and empathy, and hopefully, something has been illuminated for you. And I tink that's what happendd for a lot of readers with my novels.