By using novels, I show ordinary kids confronting and overcoming great odds.

Most people believe they have a clear idea of what's right and wrong. Many say they know how they'll act, or how they'll handle an extreme situation. But to be honest, no one knows. Not reallyBecause none of us truly knows what we'll do when the circumstances become so overwhelming and complex that we can't even tell right from wrong.

I have known some magnificent young people who died very young but had wonderful lives and inspired many people by their short existence.

Nobody gets to pick what life gives them

I wanted to write about the third world and had the opportunity to go live in the trenches, so to speak.

You want to attach emotionally.

I like to tell young people - you know one in four children die by their own hands - no matter how bad things seem, just wait a day, wait a week. Life will turn around.