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I told my whole life story in my book.

I considered that I had to write stories about the people I had met, with whom I'd worked, the history of my books - just in case I up and die.

In my stories, I controlled what happened in a way I couldn't in real life. My characters lived through the horror and degradation of the cruelty of others and they not only survived, they thrived. They gave me hope and laughter, and they kept me going in spite of everything else. They were my heroes.

I wanted to tell my story in a way I haven't done before, things I've been going through in my life.

Part of the reason I wanted to write a novel was that in fiction I could do something that's difficult to do in real life, which is to dwell on the stark details of the experience without really needing to create that narrative of redemption.

I felt like I was betraying my family. But I knew that trying to explain my emotions in a movie like this was more important than leaving them unspoken.

My stories seem to always in some way explore mistakes and misapprehensions and the possibility of redemption - though that redemption doesn't always occur in expected ways.

Every story I do is about people. It's my survival instinct - one person, one story.

All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up: justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues, freedom.