My characters don't talk necessarily in a normal American way of talking. They talk a little different.

Before I went to college, I went to the S.N.C.C. office three times a week to offer my services and catch up on my 'Liberator' magazine. The other two days, I went to the Lycee Francais to keep my French crisp. I felt comfortable in the diversity of my worlds.

I was chastised for writing several obituaries for Malcolm X, exploring different aspects of his writing. One teacher in particular told me, didn't I think I was beating a dead horse? and dismissively threw my paper on my desk.

I was constantly being sought after for money. And the vitriol that came my way from many who felt threatened by controversial aspects of 'for colored girls' was often frightening.

Somewhere along the way, when we were building social media products, we forgot the reason we like to communicate with our friends is because it's fun.

We have artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D-printing, robotics and nanotechnology that have changed the face of modern medicine. It is essential for Indian doctors to familiarise themselves with the latest developments to be able to control technology and not the other way around.

We can't have cellphones, TV, radio or the Internet. If the president died, we'd have no idea. There's no normalcy. It's just like prison, with cameras.

Most canele recipes begin with an instruction to brush $30 copper molds with melted beeswax. Unsurprisingly, I've never made it past the Internet search for 'used canele molds' before giving up.