On writing fiction versus memoir:

“With fiction, it has this very alive, unfolding feeling when I’m writing. It’s a different dynamic.”

On influence:

“I think probably every book I’ve read has something to do with how I write.” 

On the Pacific Northwest:

“But at one point, some friends and I drove from Portland to Astoria. It had an impact on me. It’s just a very particular place. It reminded me a little bit of New England, but different, very different. And distinctly western and moody. Those beaches are so broad and empty and foggy and melancholy.”

On being a literary agent and a writer:

“But in terms of the experience of it, all the knowledge in the world, or experience in the world as an agent, won’t make you less vulnerable to criticism. You become just like everyone else. You’ve worked on something that matters to you, and it makes you vulnerable.”

Read the interview here.