Just because we're related doesn't mean we are any good at understanding each other.

Not until the final draft do I force myself to remember that I'm going to have to think about how it will affect other people.

But what I hope for from a book - either one that I write or one that I read - is transparency. I want the story to shine through. I don't want to think of the writer.

Something was wrong with a world where people came and went so easily.

One sad thing about this world is that the acts that take the most out of you are usually the ones that people will never know about. (from 'Celestial Navigation')

People who hadn't suffered a loss yet struck me as not quite grown up.

In real life I avoid all parties altogether, but on paper I can mingle with the best of them