From the age of 40, I went through illness for four and a half years. I tried to keep working through it as much as I could, but I was physically not able to do it as much, and if you look sick, it's hard to get a job.

Animals weren't put on this earth to entertain us.

I'm grateful for anything that brings me back to Colorado.

I was the kind of kid, I'd sit in the back row of the class with my head practically under the desk. I was incredibly afraid of people and very shy.

The Strauss allowed me to be a writer. Without it, 'The Emperor's Children' would not exist. When I received the award, I was teaching, had one baby, and was pregnant with another. There was no time for writing.

I know exactly what my values are and what I love to do. That's worth additional years right there. I say no to a lot of stuff that would be easy money but deviates from my meaning of life.

I've always felt writing is an art. Publishing is a business. I felt strongly if I was going to write, I would write what I wanted to, and if the 'market' didn't respond, there was nothing I could really do about it.

I always imagined a writer was someone who lived in an attic in Paris, but my mum instilled in me a belief that I could do anything - so I ended up writing my first novel while working nights as a news reporter.