The problem, of course, was that people did not seem to understand the difference between right and wrong. They needed to be reminded about this, because if you left it to them to work out for themselves, they would never bother. They would just find out what was best for them, and then they would call that the right thing. That's how most people thought.

The people with the strong, brave exteriors are just as weak and vulnerable as the rest of us. And of course they never admit to their childish practices, their moments of weakness or absurdity, and then the rest of us think that's how it should be.

Gracious acceptance is an art - an art which most never bother to cultivate. We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving.... Accepting another person's gift is allowing him to express his feelings for you.

Any author of fiction will tell you that characters don't need to be told what to do.

I have three older sisters, so we were a reasonably large family and, in general, a happy one.

It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don't know everything.

I just focus on getting the first scene right, with a few lines about the overall plot, and then the book grows organically.