"I think the most important lesson isn't necessarily to try and write a different book every time, or to try to brand yourself, [but] to write the kind of books you love to read.  Because first of all, you're doing something you love.  Second, you're working in your comfort zone, and third, even if this particular book doesn't work, it's going to be a lot more pleasant an experience."

"I always had fun writing.  Even when people really close to me were saying, 'Maybe it's time to give up this dream,' it never crossed my mind to stop—because I've just always loved telling stories, I've always loved crafting sentences.  And there was always that immense satisfaction when I would stop that I'd written even one sentence that I really liked.  Or one scene that I felt was really moving.  And I love that experience."

"I wasted a lot of years writing short stories when I clearly should have been writing novels because that’s what I loved."