My favorite reader is one that revisits books and gets something new out of them each time.

When you think of how a child experiences a series of events, it feels, for so long, like she's looking at everything from behind this glass and it's obscured.

Mama says it's okay to be on the quiet side—if quiet means you're listening, watching, taking it all in.

If I loved someone enough, I would go anywhere in the world with them." —Staggerlee

Because I write realistic fiction, I generally don't think about fixing anyone - I just think about how I want to feel at the end of the book - And I try to write toward that feeling.

I think it's important to remember that writing is a gift and our stories are gifts to ourselves and to the world and sometimes giving isn't always the easiest thing to do but it comes back.

Sometimes...you have to try to forget people you love just so you can keep living.