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

The bottom line is I'm writing to save the dead. I'm writing to save the people I have lost, some of whose bodies are still walking around.

I wanted her to to go on talking and understand without me saying anything. I wanted her to love me enough to leave him, to pack us up and take us away from him, to kill him if need be. (107)

The only magic we have is what we make in ourselves, the muscles we build up on the inside, the sense of belief we create from nothing.

stories are the one sure way I know to touch the heart and change the world.

I claimed myself and remade my life.

Write the story that you were always afraid to tell. I swear to you that there is magic in it, and if you show yourself naked for me, I'll be naked for you. It will be our covenant.