I have a big mouth, and over the years, as the eldest of five, I have had a tendency to speak when no one really cared.

I have a big mouth, and over the years, as the eldest of five, I have had a tendency to speak when no one really cared.

I try to create characters that I am fascinated by on some level or intrigued by or can't stand.

I can't stand that - those women in 'Waiting to Exhale' now. I can't stand them. But that's because I'm 53 and not 33. But what they were experiencing at 33, I identified with it.

Look, as my mama always said, 'One monkey don't stop no show.

I would like to think that as a result of not just my own experiences, but at least being empathetic and compassionate about other people's experiences and plights and tragedies, that I am affected by it and learn from it.

Don't worry about how pretty (the story) sounds, how lilting it is, and the imagery, and the metaphor, all that. Most readers don't care. It's the people in your book that matter.