Who are your favorite authors?
There are so many! I love ancient and medieval authors: Homer, Ovid, Marie de France, Chrétien de Troyes, Chaucer, Shakespeare. Among later authors, Jane Austen is a favorite: a shrewd and funny observer of the mores of her time and a wonderful romance writer. Dickens and Charlotte Bronte are amazing. Moderns: Neil Gaiman, Tana French, Ursula LeGuin, Suzanne Collins, Iain Pears—any author with a sparkling style, a twisted imagination, and sympathy for the human condition.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Anticipation of my first cup of coffee. I get up at dawn every day, leaving my late-sleeping husband in bed, turn on the coffee maker, and sit down to write. I can get a tremendous amount done before anyone else in the house is awake.
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