I had a short story collection come out in 2006, and then I couldn't work on large projects for a long time because I was finishing my doctoral degree.

It's very difficult to put in the work unless you believe that what you're doing is significant in some way.

I loved writing something I'd never written before, and I wanted to write not just about "true love" but also a human relationship.

The only thing worth thinking about, when I write a story, is whether I like it, whether I want to write it, whether it excites me.

Nature inspires me continually. Today, I can look out my window and see the entire world covered with snow. It's like Narnia under the White Witch.

The Thorn and the Blossom isn't just a love story. It's about two people who decide what they actually want to do artistically, despite discouragement. In some ways, that's just as important as the romance.

What writers do - everything comes from inside, from experiences of the world that we have digested. And then we turn it into silk, or stories.