Kristin Gore

“Take it from me: I really love making things up, which is why I write fiction for a living.”

“Any writing teacher tells you to write what you know, and for better or for worse, Washington is a world I know well.”

“I'm just grateful that my parents still love each other.”

“I'm allergic to caffeine. When I have it, my throat gets sore, and I get a rash.”

“I can't look at people's wrists. Something about the veins makes me weak. My siblings used to torture me with that because they knew it was the thing I couldn't handle. They would stick their wrists in my face.”

“I always wanted to be a writer, from being a little kid onwards. My dad and my mum both had phases when that was what they did.”

“I can go days without meaningful human interaction.”

“Whenever Congress was in session, we were in Washington. So four months out of the year we were in Tennessee and the rest of the time in Arlington, which is where my mom grew up. Then, of course, in 1992 we moved into the vice president's house in D.C. I was 15 then.”

“I like my leaders smart and serious. I don't need a stand-up comic.”

“Both of my parents have great senses of humor.”

“I was really nerdy. Compared with my sisters, I often felt like a boring person because I lived so much in my head and in books.”

“I didn't realize I wanted to write about D.C. until after 2000. Even though I was a comedy writer, I stayed away from that subject on purpose. It took attaining some distance and perspective.”

“I've seen some version of 'An Inconvenient Truth' since I was born.”