There are some who go through life with a shadow hanging over them, particularly if they live in a building which has long wide awnings.

In the secret pocket, she often kept a small pocket dictionary, which she would take out whenever she encountered a word she did not know.

You’re just jealous of me because I’m a tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian!

The Edith Head Trio, I would say, would be even less of a musical career than playing the accordion, particularly because I played the accordion in The Edith Head Trio. I'm very impressed by your Googling. The Edith Head Trio and another band, Tzamboni, were two bands I was in after college that played at tiny clubs to little acclaim. Our Gypsy tango version of "When Doves Cry" was our biggest hit.But we were not destined for greatness.

It is not the diamonds or the birds, the people or the potatoes, it is not any of the nouns. The miracle is the adverbs, the way things are done. It is the way love gets done despite every catastrophe.

Put your hair up, Min. The secret ingredient is not your hair.

My general writing preface is to write an outline and then ignore about half of it, both on a micro level with the individual book, and on a macro level with the series as a whole, and that's pretty much what's happened.