I cried because I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.

I'm a very rooted person. I grew up in Norwich, Connecticut, I still live in Connecticut.

I won't read novels while writing novels.

Look, don't just stare at the pages," I used to tell my students. "Become the characters. Live inside the book.

However far fiction writers stray from their own lives and experiences - and I stray pretty far from mine - I think, ultimately, that we may be writing what we need to write in some way, albeit unconsciously.

I work hard, do my best and send it out to the world hoping that people can relate to it. I accept any reaction and hope they think it is worth reading.

If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.