When I entered the Manhattan School of Music, I felt great pressure living and studying away from home. Then I began to compose pieces, like writing diaries. Each piece is inspired by my own experience or the true stories of friends around.

began to transform her public persona from the warm, fun-loving 'Queen of nice' to a self-proclaimed '(expletive)'.

That's where I began to ask questions that maybe don't have one specific answer. And the more people you get answers from, the richer the environment becomes.

It began because, at that time, in the early '70s, we had a lot of negative occurrences in Cherry Hill.

I began modeling in N.Y. and doing commercials. That led to regional theatre and then Broadway and then movies.

But when he came out he began to realize what we were talking about, and he had breakfast with Coach Wooden. We told him we were going to win the national championship. He got excited about that.

Starting in 1999, I began to join some of the international meetings. Through these activities, I have broadened my horizon to a large extent.

Ever since I was young, 14 or 15, I wondered if you could write a book that combined the visceral thrill of watching a movie with the total immersion you feel when you're inside a good book. And I had some success as a screenwriter before I began writing books.

I began my work in the '70s, teaching at a university in Bangladesh, and these economic theories that I had learned stopped ringing true for me, as I saw the misery of people living all around me.

I distracted myself from the fear and terrorism by thinking about things like how the universe began and whether time travel is possible.