Ten Questions

“This book really fought me, or I fought it, for the first couple of years.” —Safia Elhillo, author of Girls That Never Die

“Write because you want to, not to define yourself for the benefit of other people.” —Maya Marshall, author of All the Blood Involved in Love

 “I wanted to write female friendship in a way that felt honest to me.” —Christine Kandic Torres, author of The Girls in Queens

“I have to lock up my phone every day—in a box designed for locking up cookies—during the hours I’m writing. Text messages ruin me.” —Lydia Conklin, author of Rainbow Rainbow

“There are plenty of hard truths in Ma and Me that were difficult to put down on the page, and then there are other truths that are mine, and mine alone, to keep.” —Putsata Reang, author of Ma and Me

“This book has its own life force. All you have to do is allow it to come together.” —Marwa Helal, author of Ante body

“I am a fitful writer: long periods of not writing followed by intense engagement.” —Dana Levin, author of Now Do You Know Where You Are

“I hope everyone who writes begins by recognizing their own value and the value of the very act of their having chosen to write.” —Dara Barrois/Dixon (formerly Dara Wier), author of Tolstoy Killed Anna Karenina

“Get out of the way of the writing. Don’t make it precious. Sit down and get to it.” —Roger Reeves, author of Best Barbarian

“I wasn’t ready for how much this novel would demand.” —NoViolet Bulawayo, author of Glory

“What if there was an agency that verified people’s online dating personas?” —Jane Pek, author of The Verifiers