“My mom was a biological illustrator for a time before computers replaced that jo…” — Jeff Vandermeer

My best time to write is right after coffee and breakfast - four eggs - because, full disclosure, I'm really a komodo dragon - and that's because then I'm energized but not so awake that the critical voice clicks on, the voice that sometimes says, 'Don't write that,' or, 'Man, that sentence is terrible - you should give up and go pet the cats.'

I see music as an aid. It overcomes my internal editor, especially when the music evokes the character or the mood I'm trying to build.

Film fixes a precise visual image in the viewer's head. In fiction, you just hope you're precise enough to convey the intended effect.

My dad is an entomologist and research chemist. That's why he was in Fiji, studying the rhinoceros beetle invasive species.