How has being a Houstonian influenced your writing?

Houston is a relatively young city to be the fourth largest in this country, but it comes with a rich history. Against the backdrop of the Alamo, the Indian wars, and the cattle drives, early settlers along Buffalo Bayou in the 1830s were known for their profanity and prostitution, drunkenness and dueling. (We locals are still trying to tame one another.) The ship channel and railroads made Houston a successful cotton and lumber market, and the discovery of Texas Tea at Spindletop made the economy go boom in the 20th century. Since people tend to follow the money, Houston has always been a fascinating melting pot. If there’s a more vibrant place for a writer to observe a cross section of humanity—and to be influenced by those observations—I’d like to know where it is.

Which Texas writers do you read and which Texas writers have inspired you?

Of all the Texas writers I’ve read, I’ve probably been inspired most by Katherine Ann Porter’s stories, especially “Pale Horse, Pale Rider.” I also love Donald Barthelme for his disciplined, unique, word-cloud prose. Mary Karr, who grew up in my dad’s hometown, for her vivid, tragicomic memoirs. Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove. The poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye, who used to babysit my husband when he was a pre-teen in San Antonio in the late 1960s. I’m a fan of Justin Cronin’s early work, and recently picked up Friendswood by René Steinke, which I’m looking forward to reading.

How long have you been writing?

For almost forty years.

What do you think most characterizes your writing?

My fiction isn’t about what happens to people, but the way that those people respond to what happens. It’s very character-driven, and can be, I’ve been told, dark.

What’s the most important part for you when creating characters? And have you ever created one you really didn’t like writing about?

I like to explore the dark truths about the human condition. To create authentic and interesting characters, first I plumb the shameful, private, aching depths of my own soul, then I start in on the people I know or have read about or simply imagine. The best literary figures are those who appear unique on the page, but who reveal something universal about humanity. I’ve created characters that are vehemently unlikeable, but I’ve never disliked writing about them.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Rewriting it. Three different publishers asked for total rewrites—and then didn’t accept the manuscript for publication. My agent finally said, “We’re not doing this again. You write the book you want to write, and we’ll go with that.” I put the book back into its original structure and added everything I learned about the characters in those three subsequent drafts. It was so much work. So many cut pages! So many lost words! I realized, though, that those losses weren’t waste. They were practice. After I returned the book to her, my agent sold it within two weeks.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?

Myself.

What’s your funniest flaw?

I’m hyper-organized. I like things at 90-degree angles and if something’s the tiniest bit out of alignment, I can spot it instantly. Is that funny? Probably not. But certain people would definitely consider it a flaw.

What do you want your tombstone to say?

Writer, fighter, mother, lover.