It is very difficult to make one's way in this world without being wicked at one time or another, when the world's way is so wicked to being with.

This is an absurd moral, for you and I both know that sometimes not only is it good to lie, it is necessary to lie.

When it was first optioned, I was told that the chances of The Basic Eight becoming a film were slim because no one was making teen movies, and then later, I was told that the chances were slim because there were so many teen movies, and then I was later told that the chances were slim because teen films were over. I'm not sure when the magic window of opportunity was, but perhaps it's still on the horizon.

There are some who say that sitting at home reading is the equivalent of travel, because the experiences described in the book are more or less the same as the experiences one might have on a voyages, and there are those who say that there is no substitute for venturing out into the world. My own opinion is that it is best to travel extensively but to read the entire time, hardly glancing up to look out of the window of the airplane, train, or hired camel.

Sometimes when someone tells a ridiculous lie, it is best to ignore it entirely.

You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That’s why the dark is always close by.

I first told the idea to an editor I had met who, after reading one of my novels for adults that was set in a high school, had an idea that I might write something for children.