I once worked as a tour guide in the Costa del Sol of Spain.

Writing my first book, I think in hindsight I went into it saying, 'It's gonna sell.' I was earning enough to scrape by sometime around a book or two before 'Tell No One.' I moved up from $50,000 to $75,000, then $150,000 for each book. I had never thought I would be doing anything else. I had enough encouragement.

But sometimes, maybe most times, it isn't that clear. It is dark and you are near the edge of a cliff, but you're moving slowly, not sure which direction you're heading in. Your steps are tentative but they are still blind in the night. You don't realize how close you are to the edge, how the soft earth could give away, how you could just slip a bit and suddenly plunge into the dark.

...desperation can toy with you and if you give desperation any wiggle room, it will find alternative answers

I try to stress to my children that buying something never leads to true happiness.

Hope can be the most wonderful thing in the world or it can crush your heart like an eggshell.

Memories, you see, hurt. The good ones most of all.