You had every right to be. He raised his eyes to look at her and she was suddenly and strangely reminded of being four years old at the beach, crying when the wind came up and blew away the castle she had made. Her mother had told her she could make another one if she liked, but it hadn't stopped her crying because what she had thought was permanent was not permanent after all, but only made out of sand that vanished at the touch of wind and water.

It's love, not the Battle of Thermopylae. You don't have to treat everything like it's a last stand.

One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.

Say something in Mandarin,” said Tessa, with a smile. Jem said something that sounded like a lot of breathy vowels and consonants run together, his voice rising and falling melodically: “Ni hen piao liang.” “What did you say?” Tessa was curious. “I said your hair is coming undone — here,” he said, and reached out and tucked an escaping curl back behind her ear. Tessa felt the blood spill hot up into her face, and was glad for the dimness of the carriage. “You have to be careful with it,” he said, taking his hand back, slowly, his fingers lingering against her cheek.

A good adaptation of your book is worth it because it is such a wonderful experience to see your world translated onto the screen.

You could say anything you wanted to someone you thought you were never going to see again.

You're a reader as well as a writer, so write what you'd want to read.