Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.
I always thought that bagels and lox was my soul food, but it turns out it's sushi.
Aunts offer kids an opportunity to try out ideas that don't chime with their parents and they also demonstrate that people can get on, love each other and live together without necessarily being carbon copies.
Writing about the 1950s has given me tremendous respect for my mother's generation.
Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.
Writers are a product of where we come from but by looking at alternatives to the culture in which we live, we can find ways to change and hopefully improve it.