I really just wanted to be a writer, but people tell you, 'You should have a backup career,' so I thought, 'OK, I'll act.' That was the foolishness of my vision for my life - that my backup career would be completely undependable.

I'm not the angry, rebellious child that I was. You can remain a child for a long time. I certainly did. I was a slow learner.

You know, if you hang around this earth long enough you really see how things come full circle.

I knew people were independently publishing, and I buy books on Amazon. I began seriously considering it when Amanda Hocking was in the news about her self-publishing success.

I think we can work through a lot of political and international problems, but what really frightens me is what's happening environmentally.

That is your legacy on this Earth when you leave this Earth: how many hearts you touched.

I'm very comfortable writing in the first person; it dives into the character in a way that's difficult if you're writing in the third person.