Marguerite Arnold

I grew up in a different world, on several continents.

I was born in New York City, grew up in London, spent my teenaged years in the American South and my adult life before I left the U.S. in Washington D.C. and New York. My childhood in particular was also spent in a literary world that I do not think exists anymore, certainly not as it used to, in New York and London.

I knew I would be a "writer" - I was trained and educated to be one. And I always have been. This is just my first book project that has gotten to this point and is now published and accessible. It is a great feeling.

Now that I live in Germany, I have also found that this has had a great influence on my writing. Maybe this is just a phase, just the light, just the food, just the beer, but I think it is a combination of things.

I do know that living in different places has also given me the confidence to write about not only locations, but new ideas and concepts in the language of a local if not with a familiarity that comes with having that experience. All artists and creative people are, to some extent, permanent tourists of the soul if not the unknown.

I do remember the first story I ever read although my childhood was filled with books (both my parents were writers including of children's books). But the first book I ever consciously sat down and read by myself that was not a "children's book" was "The Hobbit." It made a huge impact on me - not just the story itself, but also the story of how it came to be published and the impact of that paperback on the book business of the day.