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

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

I was envious of [Vincent] Van Gogh because I could never make a painting that beautiful! (Ridiculous, I know.) That was when the character of Ivy [Wilkes] began to take shape for me.

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

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

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 hope to work through disappointment and frustration with as much grace as [Georgia] O'Keeffe did, and I hope to have the same confidence in my own vision.