Dana Spiotta

My husband is a musician. He cooks and he's a chef but he also, he makes basement recordings. So many people in my life make basement recordings, so I feel very lucky, I'm surrounded by very creative people. ”

People think it's suspect and self-indulgent to make art, and I don't think that's true. Some people think you should be busy making something that you can sell in the marketplace, and if nobody wants to buy it, it must be crap. And that's not true. ”

I like to buy books for the kids in my family. I guess that's why they call me the 'mean' aunt. ”

Your memories from your early childhood seem to have such purchase on your emotions. They are so concrete. ”

I try to write about how we live today, how we use language, technology, our bodies. ”

I don't have a lot of skills, but one thing I can do is, I can compartmentalize. I can make that a little world that I can go back to, so I can be a waitress, or I can be a teacher, and then go and work on my book. ”

It takes a long time to write a novel when you have to keep interrupting your work to earn money. ”