A dutiful mother is someone who follows every step her child makes...And a good mother is someone whose child wants to follow her.

Whether or not you believe in Fate comes down to one thing: who do you blame when something goes wrong.

When you are attracted to people, it's because of the details. Their kindness. Their eyes. The fact that they can get you to laugh when you need it the most.

if there isn’t a them, there can’t be an us.

I don't base my books on my life (thank goodness) and I don't pick the topic first. In fact, the topic picks me - via a question I can't answer as a mom, a wife, a woman, an American. I find myself wondering "What if..." and it blossoms into a whole novel.

Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?

You didn't get past something like that, you go through it -- and for that reason alone, I understood more about her than she ever would have guessed.