Why do I write? What inspires me?

Because it is so satisfying thing to work – at a story, at characters, to create a place and tone – and pull a novel into life. Putting the pieces together, little by little, working at it, cutting, pasting, rewriting, this is part of the sense of achievement you feel when you type that last full stop! As for inspiration, almost always it’s location that comes first, a very specific backdrop – say, California, Pittsburgh, Iran, India and numerous countries where I traveled, like Greece, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal and London, England. Once the places are secure in my mind and a plot to go with them, then it’s simply a question of putting the actors, the characters rather, on the stage set!