Sometimes you can do things with Spanish - like verbs and genders - easier than you can in English.

We speak about understanding each other, having those conversations nationwide - culturally, historically - and yet there's a lot of gaps. So I want to assist with closing the gap of knowing about and hearing about our Latino communities in terms of literature, in terms of writing.

First grade was - I spoke only Spanish, and second grade - probably a bit more English. And by the time I hit third grade, I was learning, of course, much, much more English.

The goal for me is to be as expansive as possible, and the Library of Congress offers so many resources.

Music is all about creativity.

Obviously the imagination is fueled by emotions beyond the control of the conscious mind.

My father always told me I should be a writer, and I found I loved writing my autobiography; writing is such an interesting process.

I teach a lot of graduate creative writing classes, and on the first day, I like to go around the room and ask everybody what's the last book you've read that you really loved. And all of the women tend to give me chick lit titles. And to me, that's sort of disappointing because it's their only exposure to fiction somehow.