I think that we are all much closer to our childhood selves than we often think, so when we read about childhood, it can surprise us how immediate or moving it is, when perhaps those feelings are just there, waiting to be accessed all the time.

When Im writing, I spend all my time in The Grocer on Elgin buying ready-made meals; I think they are the only reason my husband and kids havent left me.

When I was a child, I wanted to raise horses in Wyoming or be a cabin boy on a pirate ship.

I think that we are all much closer to our childhood selves than we often think, so when we read about childhood, it can surprise us how immediate or moving it is, when perhaps those feelings are just there, waiting to be accessed all the time.

If I think about the writers I love or might be influenced by, I can't write at all, so I pretend there aren't any.

Oh, I always think everyone feels left out.

I dont get distracted until the weight of other things left undone finally tips the balance; my mind is flooded with calls, bills, supermarkets, letters, and I have to stop and sort things out.