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

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

I think part of my purpose in this life is to talk about magic, and to make it.

I'm sure scientists would point to specific brain chemicals, but I think love is actually a kind of magic. It's what allows things to happen, people to be creative, the world to change. Great things come out of love - for other people, for art, for beauty.

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.

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.