“Books change us. Books save us. I know this because it happened to me. Books saved me. So, I do believe through stories we can learn to change, we can learn to empathize and be more connected with the universe and with humanity.”

“For me, writing stories is one way of feeling connected to the universe and God.”

“God is the biggest storyteller, and when we create stories, we connect with him and with each other across cultural, religious and gender boundaries.”

“I find families intriguing, perhaps because I did not grow up in one. I was raised by a feminist, independent, single mother, a divorcee.”

“I love commuting between languages just like I love commuting between cultures and cities.”

“I spent my entire childhood observing people. I still do.”

“I write as if I were drunk. It is a process of intuition rather than placing myself above my story like a puppeteer pulling strings. For me, it's a scary, chaotic process over which I have little control. Words demand other words, characters resist me.”

“I write with humour about sadness, to introduce an element of sweet to the sour, a bit like Turkish food.”