I knew the basic outline of the novel [The Dissemblers] and would write whatever scene of the book I felt particularly excited about at the time.

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 lived in New Mexico until I was seventeen, and honestly I've been homesick ever since I left.

The book [The Dissemblers] officially came out two weeks after my thirtieth birthday...am I still young?

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

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

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.