I absolute adore epic journeys that require a protagonist to fight for every victory in the hopes of finding triumph.

I am one of those authors who believes (perhaps foolishly) that she is in complete control of the story.

The answers are what they are. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they aren't true.

I am more than happy to invite my five favorite fictional characters. Let's see. First on my list is Sam Gamgee from The Lord of The Rings. Sam is a beautiful character; in him, we find the profound heroism of an ordinary person. He epitomizes the saying that courage isn't not being afraid, courage is going anyway. I just love that.

Sometimes a story grabs hold of you and won't let go.

People forget that old women were young once, but d'you think we old women forget? In my heart, I'm still thirty.

To be honest, I wrote so many drafts of this book [ The Nightingale ] and changed the characters so many times; the real surprise is that I finished the book at all.