I wouldn't know how to write a weak female character. I read so much epic fantasy growing up, where you have these sword-wielding, in-your-face warrior maidens.

That's the great thing about being a writer. You dream up amazing questions... and then dream up even more amazing answers.

People have always had a fascination with the supernatural going back to the beginning of time and with vampires in particular. This phenomenon is not new.

The nice thing about a series is you can end on cliffhangers all the time. You can be like, 'You know what? Here we go, this person just died, end of book.' And with the end of the series, you're very conscious of all the plotlines that were left hanging. There's a balance there to wrap those up but still leave it exciting.

Audacity, hope, courage - the Libyans have these in abundance. But all those boring little things - like organization, building a committee - is hard; making decisions and moving ahead is hard.

I'm always looking for something new: a new inspiration, a new philosophy, a new way to look at something, new talent.

Overcoming the Cold War required courage from the people of Central and Eastern Europe and what was then the German Democratic Republic, but it also required the steadfastness of Western partner over many decades when many had long lost hope of integration of the two Germanys and Europe.

Talent is crucial. It needs to be driven by motivation, but blind ambition isn't the key.