I write because I am curious. I am curious about me.

I became a good writer when I saw the age of forty coming at me.

I have a deep attachment to the natural world. It’s a major influence on my writing, and as I look out over the wonderful snow-covered Santa Fe hills, I’m grateful for every day that I live here.

Your Texas is no different than my Texas.

It is always a tense moment for an author to see how someone hasillustrated his or her story, because the author has lived for so long with these characters, sometimes for years.

If we’re trying to excite young people about reading, we need to be experiencingbookjoy ourselves so that we have references to make. It’s important to be able to say, “You know, I read the most wonderful poem the other day. Let me tell you about it.”

I will never know what it’s like to have only one language in my head. I have the pleasure of being able to move back and forth between Spanish and English, and I incorporate both languages in my books.

I usually begin a poem in longhand. I like to sit where I have a nice view, ideally, although I worked on haiku this weekend at an airport. I’m not one to romanticize inspiration. I try to get to the work.

I want children who feel embarrassed because they speak Spanish to realize that there are places where the beautiful Spanish they speak is an asset.

I often focus more on language than on the conveying of information.