The seeds of death get lost in the mess that God made us.

In the end we had the pieces of the puzzle, but no matter how we put them together, gaps remained, oddly shaped emptinesses mapped by what surrounded them, like countries we couldn't name.

Sourmelina's secret (as Aunt Zo put it): 'Lina was one of those women they named the island after.

There's a kind of acting that goes on in my head when I'm writing a character where I put myself in their place.

It was possible to feel superior to other people and feel like a misfit at the same time.

I tell my students that when you write, you should pretend you’re writing the best letter you ever wrote to the smartest friend you have. That way, you’ll never dumb things down. You won’t have to explain things that don’t need explaining. You’ll assume an intimacy and a natural shorthand, which is good because readers are smart and don’t wish to be condescended to.

What if you had faith and performed good works, what if you died and went to heaven, and what if all the people you met there were people you didn't like?