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

I rewrite my books until they're mostly memorized so that's a lot of rewrites, a lot of time spent with my stories.

When I'm writing flawed characters, I just think about my own flaws.

I've learned a lot as a writer about poetry.

To watch your home change in front of you is surprising. But at the same time, going someplace like Mississippi, makes me appreciate even this.

I think only once in your life do you find someone that you say, "Hey, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my time on this earth with." And if you miss it, or walk away from it, or even maybe, blink - it's gone.

Everything I write, I read out loud. It has to sound a certain way. It has to look a certain way on the page.