I grew up hearing words like snakeroot, sassafras, mullein - things that had wondrous, mysterious sounds in their names.

Let me say that I absolutely loved writing 'A Common Life,' because it was a book about love.

There are so many people who don't know small towns exist. When I write, I want to give my readers two things: one is a sense of consolation, and two, I want to make them laugh.

I made real sacrifices and took big risks. But living, it seems to me, is largely about risk.

Sometimes you have to gag on fancy before you can appreciate plain, th' way I see it. For too many years, I ate fancy, I dressed fancy, I talked fancy. A while back, I decided to start talkin' th' way I was raised t' talk, and for th' first time in forty years, I can understand what I'm sayin'.

Cynics will say there are no good people out there. And if you read the papers and watch TV news you could be convinced of that. But there are good people.

I've got a lot to download on your mercy and grace. I've always rushed up to You and dumped whatever it was and hurried away, fascinated by my own busyness. I want to turn all this over to You slowly, carefully, examining every fragment as I pass it off, so there'll never be any question about it again. Every time I've dumped and run, I've nearly always run back and snatched it out of Your hands. Help me in this.......Right now, I'm certain of only one thing - that You love us, and that's where we all have to begin.