That was what gospel was meant to do - make you hate and love yourself at the same time, make you ashamed and glorified.

Two or three things I know, two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that to go on living I have to tell stories, that stories are the one sure way I know to touch the heart and change the world

It's fun to tease people about where fiction and life intersect.

Mama learned to laugh with them, before they could laugh at her, and to do it so well no one could be sure what she really thought or felt.

Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I'd rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me.

I have a terrible memory.

I'll tell you the secret. When you begin with a character, you want to begin by creating a villain.