I did take one drawing class in school, but for this book I spent a lot of time talking to painters and asking them silly questions.

From beginning to end, the novel [Dissemblers] took about three and a half years to write. I didn't write it chronologically.

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

Ivy [Wilkes] does exhibit a certain impatience at the beginning of the book [The Dissemblers]. She doesn't want to wait through years of hard work and insignificance to make her mark on the art world. Part of her growth is in realizing - even embracing - that the process of art is more important than the product or the recognition.

I was loosely aware that most of my characters were fundamentally selfish people, but I didn't intentionally make that a theme.

Yet [Georgia O'Keeffe ] always stayed true to her vision, and was at times uncompromising in following the path she saw for herself.

At the end, I cobbled scenes all together and smoothed out the transitions as much as possible. Incidentally, I would not recommend this approach to writing a book, and will probably not write that way again!