My road in life has been direct.
Knew she wanted to be a writer from a very young age.
Was originally scared of movies; went to see "The Time Machine" when she was young and it terrified her.
When she was 16, took a creative writing class; a "real writer" came in and singled out her story as "the real deal."
In college, paid her rent by working at a movie theater; was exposed to Truffaut, Goddard, Fellini: classic filmmakers.
After college, she bartended and worked on her first novel. Knew she wanted to write the novel but anxiety kept slowing her down.
Took 18 months to write the first draft, finished at age 25, threw it away because it was so bad.
Rewrote it in three months; had a friend pretend to be a literary agent, sold it to an editor she admired.
After that one big triumph, it was hard to move on, but she'd accomplished her goal and knew she do whatever she wanted from there.
