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I fell in love with words in all languages, and I read everything I could find, particularly myths and legends and histories and archeology and any novels.

Many of the books I read, I had to read them in French, English, or Italian, because they hadn't been translated into Spanish.

There are things I read doing research, and there are certain books and writers I just love to read. There are books of Brian Morten's that I love, for instance. There's a wonderful book by an Australian writer named Helen Garner called 'The Children's Bach,' and I just love the way she uses language in it.

I've always been in love with language. My favorite book is a dictionary. I have always loved words.

I read everything. I'll read a John Grisham novel, I'll sit and read a whole book of poems by Maya Angelou, or I'll just read some Mary Oliver - this is a book that was given to me for Christmas. No particular genre. And I read in French, and I read in German, and I read in English. I love to see how other people use language.

When I started writing, the first thing that came out was in English. I liked a few French things, but they were very overwhelming.

Home to me is the world because my books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

I love learning about different dialects and I own all sorts of regional and time-period slang dictionaries. I often browse through relevant ones while writing a story. I also read a lot of diaries and oral histories.

I feel I've got 10 books in me.

I meet people overseas that know five languages - that the only language I'm comfortable in is English.