I've always liked the idea that writing is a form of travel. And I started my writing career as a mystery novelist for adults.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I spent the first twenty years of my writing career preparing for the mystery genre, which is my favorite literary form.
I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist, but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.
Once the travel guide came out and won an award, once I got an MFA in creative writing, once I sold my next novel, I finally started telling people that I was a writer. I remember how special that year felt.
You have to first be a writer and somebody who loves to write. If I couldn't travel, I would still write.
What inspires me most to write is the act of traveling.
Writing is like a rollercoaster ride for me, an adventure. I love exploring the world through 'playing' people who are absolutely nothing like me.
I love writing. I've pursued it with a passion.
When I began writing that I was able and did travel and met some fascinating people and also uncovered some history, which has not been discovered before.
I never studied writing, but I'd always been a reader and had a secret fantasy about being a writer.
Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a traveler and explorer. Science-fiction allowed me to go places that were otherwise inaccessible, which is why I started reading it. I was going to be a lawyer, but I got saved.