I dreamed of having a book of my own, of writing one that I could put on a shelf.

My mission is to communicate, to wake people up, to give them my energy and accept theirs. We're all in it together, and I respond emotionally as a worker, a mother, an artist, and a human being with a voice. We all have a voice. We have the responsibility to exercise it, to use it.

I don't wear makeup. I can't stand nothin' on my face. It's a phobia. It's not a platform.

I loved books; I read my childhood away. I was more interested in my interior world.

Sometimes I just wanted to raise my hands and stop. But stop what? Maybe just growing up.

I don't care whether they're men or women, that's bullshit. A good writer can get into any gender, can get into any mouth. When I write I may be a Brando creep, or a girl laying on the floor, or a Japanese tourist, or a slob like Richard Speck. You have to be a chameleon when you're writing.

I believe myself to be an artist. That was my calling, to do my work, and what's most important to me is to do the best work I possibly can. And that is what means the most, that is what will endure.