My background is deep and set in deep time, and in a narrow space, oral traditions going back a long, long time, which I inherited by osmosis.

If you are going to write, nothing will stop you, and if you are not going to write, nothing will make you.

My great-grandfather was a self-taught man, and his library was extraordinary. I read the lot.

Possessive parents rarely live long enough to see the fruits of their selfishness.

When you start, the world of publishing seems like a great cathedral citadel of talent, resisting attempts to let you inside. It isn't like that at all. It may be more difficult now, and take longer than when I started to write, but there's a great, empty warehouse out there looking for simple talent.

She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting.

I wish Monkeys could Skype. Maybe one day.