It happened the way I come up with any story, which is that I took elements of my own life and put them into the story, but in a very mixed-up way.

The appeal of writing a romance was that I'd never written one before the The Thorn and The Blossom.

I'm writinng my first full-length novel, which is based on a novella I wrote called "The Mad Scientist's Daughter." I'm having a wonderful time with it, but of course it's presenting challenges as well. Stories always do, no matter what they are.

I see so many talented writers who have difficulties with that. And if you don't believe it's important, you won't put in the work you need to.

When we tell stories about things that are important - love, fear, beauty - we change the way people think about the world. Writers are, or should be, truth-tellers even when the stories themselves are fantasy.

Delia Sherman once told me that you never learn to write a story. You only learn to write the story you are currently writing. You have to learn how to write the next story all over again. And she's absolutely right.

So much work went into this book [ "The Thorn & The Blossom"] - you can probably tell from looking at the art and overall design.