Only a few of us are going to be willing to break our own hearts by trading in the living beauty of imagination for the stark disappointment of words.

I wanted to eat her pain, take it into me and make it my own.

We are taught to be suspicious, especially of anyone who might not look like us or share our beliefs.

The thing you can count on in life is that Tennessee will always be scorching hot in August.

I love a large cast of characters. That's the way life is: it's flooded with people and we keep them all straight.

You can't say, "I'm too busy writing to be political." You are one person.

I craft everything in the beginning. I know where the characters are going before I start writing the book.