I read my books to writing workshops and friends, and I'm often focussed just on keeping them entertained. I never think about marketing at all.

I hear so many writers say - and these are writers that I trust completely - 'I just started hearing a voice', or, 'The characters came to life'. I am filled with loathing for my own characters when I hear that because they do nothing of the sort. Left to their own devices, they do nothing but drink coffee and complain about their lives.

I can't say that winning the Pen/Faulkner was a dream come true because I would never have dared to dream it.

Karen Joy Fowler Quotes