I have been to hell and back. I had a very, very bad nervous breakdown.

Victoria was just as much in love with me as I was with her. We could not bear to be apart for a single second. We were like two lovers shipwrecked on a desert island. There was no world outside our love.

Even my older brothers' early success 10 years ago didn't change me since there was such an age difference.

Songs don't just come out of the air. They take time, but it's good fun, too. Maurice gave me encouragement.

I noticed that no matter where I went in the country, there was this group of questions that got asked. I would track them and keep them in categories. Like body image, school, family, friendship, you name it, the emotional life of a teenage girl.

Yes, I love my homes, I love to travel, I love my family, and I love doting on my new grandchildren. But you can only do so much of that. I don't go to lunch with friends. I don't join clubs. I don't have any big hobbies. I work. I come up with stories. I can't even imagine a life where I'm not sitting around, worried about my next book.

Form the habit early in life of leaving your business at the store or wherever you may be employed. Never carry it home to mar the peace of your family; if you do, you will soon drive out the sunshine.

I do believe at the end of the night when you're with your family, the character gets hung up on the door like a coat, and is there to be taken on the next morning.