I was only loosely aware of [Georgia] O'Keeffe's work. Primarily, I had seen her famous paintings of skulls with flowers, which are not my favorite. I didn't really become familiar with her work until after I started writing the book, but the more I learned about her the more I admired her.

I was at an art museum with my parents, and was quite taken with a [Vincent] Van Gogh painting. I stood admiring the painting for some time, and then realized that in addition to feeling moved by the beauty of the painting, I felt a little jealous of the painter.

I did make several trips to the very wonderful [Georgia] O'Keeffe museum. Besides the art (my favorite paintings are from her Pelvis series) my favorite thing about the museum is the architecture. I love how enormously tall the doors are - it is like going into a church. There is also something home-like about the layout of the museum. I wish I could live there!

I do think that it is one of the eternal questions about art, though - is all art intrinsically selfish?

When I finished the book [The Dissemblers], I sent it to one billion agents, and got one billion rejections.

I am currently in nursing school, so one day I will be both a nurse and a writer.

I started writing about New Mexico in an autobiography class I was taking for school, and realized that it was very inspiring place for me.