Tell me, Doctor, are you afraid of death?" "I guess it depends on how you die.

I am struck by how, except when you're young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don't get that sort of system set by a certain age, you'll lack focus and your life will be out of balance.

I think people who share my dreams can enjoy reading my novels. And that's a wonderful thing. I said that myths are like a reservoir of stories, and if I can act as a similar kind of "reservoir," albeit a modest one, that would make me very happy.

Everything, everything seemed once-upon-a-time.

I think certain types of processes don’t allow for any variation. If you have to be part of that process, all you can do is transform—or perhaps distort—yourself through that persistent repetition, and make that process a part of your own personality.

Her smile steps offstage for a moment, then does an encore, all while I'm dealing with my blushing face.

In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life.