The distance between me and my readers is the Internet. I can communicate with them and respond to every email I get or every mention on Twitter.
I think the philosophy that we don't know as much as we think we know resonates throughout my work.
Writing is a lonely profession.
Completing any writing project, particularly a novel, is a daunting prospect. Many people become frozen by the prospect. Others keep waiting for the right time. Some wait for the spark of inspiration. Even experienced writers find it is easier to do anything other than actually write.
A one-hundred-thousand-word novel might take a year or several years, and then you just come to 'The End' one day. But it takes hundreds of days to get to 'The End.' As a writer, you have to put in those hundreds of days.
First novels tend to be blood-lettings, and they're focused on you, not the reader.
I often turn to my books when my own writing is having a hard time.
I read so much science fiction when I was young. I believe science fiction is the genre for exploration and to learn about possibilities via book.
The most important thing is readers. I've got a huge Twitter following, but I don't really think it sells books; I don't think a huge Facebook following sells books - although these things aren't bad, of course.
One thing I often talk about in my business is that an eBook is not like a print book: it's very, very different. It's organic. It's changing.
As fiction writers, we are entertainers.
I've always said the hardest aspect of the job of being a writer is writing.
