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

I find that time constraints actually make me more productive, and "real world" experiences provide a lot of inspiration to write.

Finally, I found a wonderful agent who wanted to work with me, and she sent it to one billion publishers and received one billion rejections, until I was fortunate enough to be matched up with the Permanent Press.

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've spent many a day worrying that I will never be able to write again!

The motivation to paint seems more pure, or at least more personal, when the artist is doing it for herself.

Does art play a role in the greater good of society, or does it just promote the satisfaction of the artist? I go back and forth on that question.