Goodreads asked Joan Dempsey:

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Joan Dempsey As a fiction writer, the thing I like best is getting to step inside the skin and heart and mind of characters who are unlike myself. I love discovering what makes people tick, especially those who are unlike myself. Also, I love being forced to learn things because of those characters, things I ordinarily might not think to be interested in. For instance, the protagonist of THIS IS HOW IT BEGINS is Polish. I honestly never thought too much about anything at all having to do with Poland, but getting to know Ludka Zeilonka finally propelled me to Warsaw for a full month, where I did research and wrote, and stumbled around the city knowing only how to say "good morning" (dzien dobry) and "thank you" (dzięki). Crazy fun!

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