My desk is covered with talismans: pieces of rose quartz, wishing stones from a favorite beach.

Confidence is highly overrated when it comes to creating literature. A writer who is overly confident will not engage in the struggle to get it exactly right on the page - but rather, will assume that she's getting it right without the struggle.

Recognize the possibility of the divine in any given moment.

I was doing a lot of yoga and learning to meditate, and I found that extremely helpful, and still do and hopefully always will.

Maggie Shipstead takes hold of the reader and doesn't let go. Astonish Me is a haunting, powerful novel.

It's easier in an urban world to cast the blame outward. So I've learned a lot about my own process in that way.

All there is to do, right at this very moment, is to breathe in, breathe out, and kiss the joy as it flies.