We can all agree that first loves can be a scary thing, and that growing up is hard to do.

Growing up, I mostly read comic books and sci-fi. Then I discovered the book 'Jane Eyre' by Jane Austen. It introduced me to the world of romance, which I have since never left. Also, the world of the first-person narrative.

I used to draw and illustrate, but I don't do that anymore because I just like to write. I like to leave the illustrations to actual professional illustrators.

Strong female characters - even if they don't necessarily make the same decisions that we might - make such great narrative material, especially when there's an equally strong male character in the mix.

I had to deal with death at a really young age.

Heath Ledger's recent death, like that of River Phoenix, was handled with great care by the press. Anna Nicole Smith's not so much.

No one was ever great without some portion of divine inspiration.

To find out my song made the top 10 was honestly a dream come true. I think it's something that I've dreamed about, and anyone dreams about, their whole life.