Writing a novel is not at all like riding a bike. Writing a novel is like having to redesign a bike, based on laws of physics that you don't understand, in a new universe. So having written one novel does nothing for you when you have to write the second one.

I began visiting Lima's prisons back in 2007, when my first novel, 'Lost City Radio,' was published in Peru.

As a boy, I wanted to be the Peruvian Diego Maradona. Sadly, Peru hasn't made the World Cup since 1982, so I guess I did well to choose something different.

At the most basic level, I appreciate writers who have something to say.

The effort to create a work of art that is true and potentially lasting, that is the very best work of art you can create at that point in your life - a book that may only reach or move a few people but will seem to those people somehow transformative. That's the ideal; that's always the motivation.

Backstreet Boys, we don't stop. We just keep going.

I am one of four girls and was inspired by my father to dream big. Some girls want to be doctors, but I wanted to run a company.

Back in the day, what motivated me was overcoming myself. Now I believe in being a leader. I've done it all - I'm good. Now, it's about setting an example for others to follow. I can't just talk it - I have to live it.