I'm one of those writers who, when writing, believes she's god-and that she hasn't bestowed free will on any of her characters. In that sense there are no surprises in any of my books.

My writing has to support more than my research habit, but I love to curl up with a book about some dusty corner of history.

Ideas aren't magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down.

Neophyte writers tend to believe that there is something magical about ideas and that if they can just get a hold of a good one, then their futures are ensured.

I'm one of those writers who, when writing, believes she's god-and that she hasn't bestowed free will on any of her characters. In that sense there are no surprises in any of my books.

I've read short stories that are as dense as a 19th century novel and novels that really are short stories filled with a lot of helium.

There is nothing that compares to an unexpected round of applause.