Q: THE CONDITIONS OF LOVE is your first novel.  Did you always know you wanted to write?  What made this moment right for your debut?

A: I never thought of becoming a writer until after I was married and had children, but I’d read voraciously as a child and reading saved my life. Luckily, I lived in a house filled with books, a strange mixture of highbrow and lowbrow stuff. We also had a set of World Book encyclopedias given to us by a wealthy cousin, which I pored over. Many writers, myself included, attached themselves to books early on, but not every ferocious reader becomes a writer. One of the things that probably contributes to the transformation from reader to writer is the presence of an inner pressure that seeks expression in language. I think it’s the unsayable demanding to be said. When I acknowledged this demanding spirit, I signed up for an MFA in poetry. Some time after I graduated, I realized I needed a more expansive format than lyric poetry and turned to fiction.  Continue reading…

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