When I was little, I made up my own fairy tales, and the ghostly echo of ‘Once upon a time’ shapes all the fiction I’ve ever written.

I’m one of those sad cases who’ve never wanted to be anything but a writer. I started writing my first novel when I was five years old. I have no idea what it was about,...

If you are causing trouble, look for allies, always.

I can critique the bad; I can take the good, and I can add whatever I want.

I believe it’s incredibly important to write against [racial] stereotypes. If we give in and make sure that all black women characters are asexual, gentle, and kind we wind up with another set of stereotypes.

The job of every generation is to discover the flaws of the one that came before it. That’s part of growing up, figuring out all the ways your parents and their friends are broken.

For even though the rest of the city–no, the rest of the country–starved and searched fruitlessly for work and slept in a humpy in the park, society’s finest could still squander their money however they...

Eating good food is my favourite thing in the whole world. Nothing is more blissful.

My favourite vampires are all very scary indeed. So the idea of falling in love with one is just weird to me.

I give people ‘If You Came Softly’ when they demand proof that novels for teens can be as good as the best novels for adults.

I remember that feeling when I was a young reader: finding books that were set in Sydney with Australian characters was incredibly exciting.

I travel way too much to have any pets. But if I could have one, I’d want a quokka. They’re basically small kangaroos native to Western Australia.