Growing up in Niagara Falls, Ontario, I took classes as a young girl and became very serious about ballet, and also performed with a local company, although it wasn't a professional company.

It breaks my heart that we are always being nudged toward the most recently published books, when so many worthy books have gone unexplored.

I'm very comfortable with tweeting, I have a very active author Facebook page, I Skype book clubs all over the world.

I really became convinced I wanted to tell the story of the real-life model for the Degas sculpture 'Little Dancer Aged 14,' which was unveiled in 1881, the Belle Epoque.

There are a lot of people who came out of adverse situations and made it. Use it as motivation. Use it to drive you.

For a film, when you condense, you don't want to keep going back to the same setting over and over.

We are now on the threshold of a newer movement, with a newer hope and a new inspiration.

We talk on principal, but act on motivation.