DNA tells you all the secrets of life,’ he used to say. Except for one—how to live it.

Voice is not just the sound that comes from your throat, but the feelings that come from your words.

Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine.

I just love historical fiction.

Cry your grief to God. Howl to the heavens. Tear your shirt. Your hair. Your flesh. Gouge out your eyes. Carve out your heart. And what will you get from Him? Only silence. Indifference. But merely stand looking at the playbills, sighing because your name is not on them, and the devil himself appears at your elbow full of sympathy and suggestions. And that's why I did it....Because God loves us, but the devil takes an interest.

Because just for a few seconds, someone else hurts, too. For just a few seconds, I'm not alone.

The King walks. He nods. His glance is like God's touch - under it all things spring to life. A wave of his hand and a hundred musicians tear into the Handel, making a sound you've never heard before, and never will again. A sound that goes through you, through flesh and bone, and reorders the very beat of your heart.