My road to publishing actually came through a colleague who connected me to my agent, and the faculty at Cornell was very supportive.

My road to publishing actually came through a colleague who connected me to my agent, and the faculty at Cornell was very supportive.

My family lived in Egypt from 1993 to 1996.

A lot of writers that I know have told me that the first book you write, you write about your childhood, whether you want to or not. It calls you back.

I am very interested in place, and the influences of place on characters.

For me it was a lot harder to come to terms with the death of my grandfather than it was to come to terms with what's happened to the former Yugoslavia.

Being taken seriously, for a young writer, is a wonderful form of encouragement, but at the same time, I don't think one should ever feel like attempting a kind of artistic endeavor is beyond your scope just because of age or inexperience.