I loved languages, and loved learning languages. It was fantastic. But I was alone there. I remember that time as a real Virginia Woolf time. More than any language it was her language that influenced me.

I love reading fiction about people who are connecting intellectually. I find that exhilarating.

I'm very interested in the way people interact emotionally.

When you have people who get angry quickly, you have to learn the rules to avoid being in that situation.

I definitely feel that my brain works differently, and words come out differently, if I have a pencil in my hand, rather than if I have a keyboard.

Usually, the creating of the book happens while I'm writing the book. I start with Chapter One, with a few ideas and a handful of characters, and the book grows from there.

To go back to my childhood, I experienced lots of different family cultures, all the while feeling like none of them were mine.