I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading your last book and can not wait for your next book. What inspires your female characters?

Janet Fitch so glad you liked Paint It Black! The next one will be out in October 2017, also with a young female protagonist--I love wild girls, and the new book's protagonist, Marina Makarova, is one of those daring girls who is willing to make every mistake in order to have a more adventurous life. I admire people like that, even though they often suffer more.

My characters, both male and female, are usually a combination of aspects of myself and of people I've known, read about, considered deeply. I'm also inspired by conflict, like most writers--and the female-female conflicts, the ones we have with our friends, with our mothers and daughters, are super-interesting to me. The complex interrelationship of women's bonds--what we love and hate about one another, our loyalties and betrayals--fascinate me. Because they're so interwoven, never just one thing. Often a good person can give you the absolute wrong advice, or the person who hates you tells you the thing you need to know. Friends get you in trouble, but also have your back. Power relationships between women are interesting, because we need each other, we support, we compete, we educate, we attack, often at the same time. I think I"m known for having a variety of interesting women in my books, not just one, or one type. I find this range of female personalities and then the resulting relationships obsessionally interesting.

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