Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I have spent most of my life in Salem, Oregon, and all the things that have happened here have motivated me to write about them. I'm not saying that the same things wouldn't have happened anywhere else, but I can't help think of how different things would be had I lived elsewhere.
When did you first start writing?
I don't remember! I've been writing all my life...I started getting serious about it when I was 11. I was mostly into poetry back then, and it was a great way to prepare for novel writing.
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