I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real, to see day lilies and swimming pools, loyalty and devotion, even though my eyes were closed, and all that surrounded me was a darkened room. I wrote because that was who I was at the core, and if I was too damaged to walk around the block, I was lucky all the same. Once I got to my desk, once I started writing, I still believed anything was possible.

Even as a small child, I understood that woman had secrets, and that some of these were only to be told to daughters. In this way we were bound together for eternity.

You can't dispute the ridiculous. You can't argue reasonably with evil.

I always quit at three when my kids come home from school so I feel pretty spoiled

The best way to die is when your living

Every problem has a solution, although it may not be the outcome that was originally hoped for or expected.

When I write for teens, I feel I can cut through everything and get to the bare bones. I can get straight into the emotional world of the character.