My dad is a workaholic so I take after him in this respect.

I approach most things in life with a dangerous level of confidence to balance my generally low self-esteem.

The notion that I should be fine with the status quo even if I am not wholly affected by the status quo is repulsive.

People of color are not under any kind of obligation beyond working hard, doing their best, and learning from their mistakes.

Just write and love what you're writing. And if you're not loving what you're writing, take a look at why and fix that.

Feminism is a choice, and if a woman does not want to be a feminist, that is her right, but it is still my responsibility to fight for her rights. I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn't make certain choices for ourselves. I believe women not just in the United States but throughout the world deserve equality and freedom but know I am in no position to tell women of other cultures what that equality and freedom should look like.

I am fine with my books being categorized as African-American literature but I hope they are also considered Haitian-American literature and American literature. All of these things are part of who I am and what I write.