Natsuo Kirino

It's a very confusing experience living as a woman in Japan. If your husband is white-collar, the wife is blue. Even if you marry a person of status, the wife inevitably remains a rung below.

One of my books, 'Rain Falling on My Face,' earned me the 39th Edogawa Ranpo prize. It's a very prestigious literary prize in Japan, mostly for mysteries and thrillers.

I started writing juvenile novels around 1985. I never really thought of it as a career, but more as a way to make a living.

I know I'm not the kind of person who's gonna wind up a walking jukebox, like many rock 'n' roll artists. They just play their hits and that's it. That doesn't appeal to me.

I'd date someone younger or older; age doesn't matter to me. Or looks, really - it's all about maturity.

Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. It's just a cycle.