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 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 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.

Publishing requires a lot of persistence and a fair amount of luck.

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

I'm working on a novel about a girl who grows up in the circus and her relationship with her father, who grew up in Hungary when it was under Soviet control and left during the 1956 revolution. It is told from both of their perspectives, and has been a joy (and very frustrating) to research and write. Needless to say, I am very excited about my next project!

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