I love learning about different dialects and I own all sorts of regional and time-period slang dictionaries. I often browse through relevant ones while writing a story. I also read a lot of diaries and oral histories.

One of my goals is to allow readers to see my characters and the world they inhabit as vividly as possible.

A small profit is better than a big loss.

Others can make us vulnerable and the sooner such vulnerabilities are dealt with the better

A place where something so terrible had happened shouldn't continue to exist in the world

Furthermore, even if ideas were gettable - say, stacked in a secluded cave like the Dead Sea scrolls - I wouldn't go there. An 'idea,' especially one adhered to from start to finish, can be disastrous for a compelling piece of fiction.

I learnt how to hunt rattlesnakes with an eagle for Serena.