I attempted briefly to consecrate myself in the public library, believing every crack in my soul could be chinked with a book.

But children robbed of love will dwell on magic.

If we can't, as artists, improve on real life, we should put down our pencils and go bake bread.

Like Daniel she enteres the lions' den, but lacking Daniel's pure and unblemished soul, Ada is spiced with the flavors of vice that make for a tasty meal. Pure and unblemished souls must taste very bland, with an aftertaste of bitterness.

Literature is one of the few kinds of writing in the world that does not tell you what to buy, want, see, be, or believe. It's more like conversation, raising new questions and inspiring you to answer them for yourself.

From my earliest memory, times of crisis seemed to end up with women in the kitchen preparing food for men.

What keeps me awake at the wheel is the thrill of trying something completely new with each book. I’m not a risk-taker in life, generally speaking, but as a writer I definitely choose the fast car, the impossible rock face, the free fall.