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I write a lot about disadvantaged people, particularly vulnerable children, because I feel that that's who I was. That is familiar terrain for me. And I try to write about things that are very close to me because I want people to feel the passion that I have for the subject.

I write about outsiders. I write about people who are outside and don't know quite how to get in because it's how I've always felt.

I've been writing stories, in one form or another, since I was a kid.

I grew up in the suburbs among highly educated people, in a house crammed with books. It was a culture rich in ideas, stimulation, entertainment, and mental activity, all helpful to the nurture of an imaginative child who wanted from an early age to be a writer.

I loved writing for kids, I loved talking to children about what I'd written, I don't want to leave that behind.

I have written stories since I was a child.

My writing process is a mix of research, personal experiences, washing the dishes, raising kids while thinking - then writing.

I can remember in my early days of writing going to sort of writers' functions and parties and things like that, and I used to get very irritated because when people heard that you came from the suburbs, they had this notion that it was very un-cool to come from there.

I write about people in small towns; I don't write about people living in big cities. My kind of storytelling depends upon people that have time to talk to each other.

Now I don't really write for adults or kids - I don't write for kids, I write about them. I think you need to do that, otherwise you end up preaching down.