There's all kinds of love in the world, and not all of it looks like the stuff in greeting cards.

I could have told him that nothing was safe and that no matter how careful you were and how hard you tried, there were still accidents, hidden traps, and snares. You could get killed on an airplane or crossing the street. Your marriage could fall apart when you weren't looking; your husband could lose his job; our baby could get sick or die.

I was lucky to receive help at the beginning of my career and now I want to help other writers as much as I can.

I love it when people ask who my influences are... or what my favorite part of my last book was... or the last great book I read.

Everyone has sorrow. Everyone has obligations. Everyone keeps going. You lean on the people who love you. You do the best you can, and you keep going.

If a writer writes poems and short stories and novels, but nobody ever reads them, is she really a writer?

Head's all empty, I don't care,' he'd sing to me, quoting the Grateful Dead, and I'd force a smile, thinking that my head was never empty and that if it ever was, you could be darn sure I'd care.