I think dystopian futures are also a reflection of current fears.
Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future.
I was a troubled teen and I was constantly looking for someone to throw me a rope. Those ropes are connections. They allow us to see that life exists beyond the little worlds we are currently a part of.
Finishing books - and leaving the world you've created - is always a kind of emotionally wrenching experience. I usually cry.
I often write two books simultaneously. Usually one of them starts out as a fun experiment designed to give me a daily break from the real book I'm writing. And then that becomes a real book too.
My parents were pretty liberal, but they were still parents. I definitely had my teenage rebellion.
I try to write characters that are as real, emotionally and psychologically, as I can make them; I feel the same way about setting. This often means that I'm drawing from my experiences and observations.
You don't reach points in life at which everything is sorted out for us. I believe in endings that should suggest our stories always continue.
I have a beautiful pair of Giuseppe Zanotti black pumps that make me feel like a model every time I put them on. I have a pair of Jimmy Choo flats I would marry, if I could.
I think I'm able to do so much because writing is what I love to do. So, often when I have free time, I choose to write and edit.
I love to sleep. I'm an excellent, excellent sleeper.
I worked in publishing before I became an author, so I knew how a book gets made.
With 'Delirium,' I had to spend time thinking about the political, social and religious structure of a different world. But it was a fun challenge.
I think 'Voldemort' is definitely the scariest villain.
One of the things I've tried to do in my career is really write different kinds of books, so I'm able to broaden people's expectations of what I'm allowed to do.
I feel a lot of adult fiction looks down on plot as a lesser form of literature.
'Requiem' has been controversial because people don't feel I gave it closure.
There are times I wish I was more conventional. I would get a husband and a baby and a big SUV in the 'burbs and be happy. But forging my own way - my career, my relationships with wonderful but troubled people - that's who I am.
I think all artists are only interested in a couple of themes, really. I'm primarily interested in change and connection as being this restorative force. I write about them because that's what I think about in my own life.
