Well, I think in my first two novels, both the characters are pretty neurotic, which I would say that I am.

We all make mistakes, don't we? But if you can't forgive yourself, you'll always be an exile in your own life.

What greater happiness is there than the privilege of being bored together?

We have to make mistakes, its how we learn compassion for others

I heard Gillian say, with a laugh, At this point, does anyone expect the liberals not to be total hypocrites? She was oblivious to the possibility that perhaps not everyone present shared her views, and I thought, You're sixteen. How can you already be a Republican?

I have always found the times when another person recognizes you to be strangely sad; I suspect the pathos of these moments is their rareness, the way they contrast with most daily encounters. That reminder that it can be different, that you need not go through your life unknown but that you probably still will--that is the part that's almost unbearable.

I like it when characters are some combination of appealing and maybe flawed or self-interested. I think in terms of scenes, and what I want a scene to achieve, and I think that the psychological realism arises from that.