Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.

Often we don't notice the stringent rules to which our culture subjects us.

Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.

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.

While I'm frustrated at the amount I'm expected to take on in the present, the 1950s woman was frustrated by being excluded - not being allowed to take things on at all.

I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any kind of writing - as long as the writing is good.

History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.