The older I get, the more I appreciate my rural childhood. I spent a lot of time outdoors, unsupervised, which is a blessing.

I live in a rural part of Virginia surrounded by farms and farmers.

Part of my childhood was spent in Sydney and part in rural New South Wales, at Armidale.

It's surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time

We're 30 years older now, so you can go back and appreciate things a lot more, ... It's made for a wonderful year.

For me, writing time has always been precious, something I wait for and am eager for and make the best use of. That's probably why I get up so early and have writing time in the quiet dawn hours, when no one needs me.