The wholesome is definitely intentional and drilled into me. I mean, we weren't allowed to pierce our ears growing up. We didn't wear makeup. We couldn't have layers in our hair, perms, or color, or manicures. My dad didn't think it was ladylike. My dad just felt like his daughters should be wholesome.

My parents came from a poor background and worked their way up because of education. They saw it as a way to succeed. So they cared about me getting straight A grades when I was growing up.

Growing up where I did, the thought of working on a television show or in a movie... that existed on a parallel plane, you know?

I'm still conflict-averse. I don't like to argue.

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.

I was fantastically well versed by the time I left school. I had a teacher who put 'A Clockwork Orange' my way, and 'Catcher in the Rye.'

I could never have pictured myself writing a book when I was 25 years old. My mom was an English teacher but I wasn't that way growing up.

It's helpful for me to get ideas - the physical action of painting. Sometimes it frees up your writer brain. It's nice for me now that the writing has become a serious career that painting can become more like a hobby.