Growing up, I thought I'd have at least five kids.

I wouldn't change a thing about what I've done in the past because what may have been bad choices have all led me to this moment.

I waited a long time to have children because I had this career that was kind of like my kid, it required as much nurturing.

I wouldn't go back and be 25 again for all the tea in China.

For me, imagination would always provide a means of escape.

Before adolescence I had an incredible voice. Like when I was 12, 13, 14 - I was taking acting classes, I was painting, I was making music, I was taking photographs. I was kind of exploding creatively, and then something about adolescence really just ground that out of me.

When you're making this kind of music, you don't need a producer. If you're making pop albums or trying to write hit singles, then yeah, but if you're writing 20-minute prog epics, as long as you know how to make it sound good, and you have a good mixer, that's all you need.

My freshman English professor at Kent State University in 1984 told me I was a good writer, and she loved all the silly pictures I drew in my notebook. She said I should try writing children's books, and so I did.