I cannot just write a frivolous book, a la-di-da book. Everything isn't la-di-da. There is something that's going to pull you up short. I want to reassure young readers. I want to comfort them, to not fear the unexpected.

You know, maybe that's all anybody wants, is to be useful. And have somebody else notice it.

What exactly did people do when they had all the time in the world and could do whatever they liked?

I don't want to because boys don't write poetry. Girls do.

One thing I'm interested in is what shapes us: the people? The place where we live? It's both of those and more. That's what I keep coming back to.

I don't remember titles of books or authors from when I was young. I remember the title of only one book, which was 'The Timber Toes.' I remember it was a family of little wooden people who lived in the woods, and for some reason that stayed with me.

The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in.