"In doing a sequel to The Dragon and the Turtle we wanted to continue building our theme of friendship and offer a book that mimics pretend play with clues on each page that feed the reader's imagination."
"Firstborn sprang from a news article I read concerning gendercide. I was horrified to learn that over 37 million girls are missing in China alone, due to the One Child Policy enacted in 1980."
"Even though my books are fiction, with each one I try to pay tribute to those real life women who went before us. They were remarkably resilient, resourceful, and courageous. I feel great affection for them and I hope that comes across in my novels."