May this house stand until an ant drinks the ocean and a tortoise circles the world.

Both young children and old people have a lot of time on their hands. That's probably why they get along so well.

When you love someone deeply, you know secrets they haven't told you yet. Or secrets they aren't even aware of themselves. ... She was also the person I wanted to share the trivia of my life with, because that too is part of the magic of concern: Whatever you live is important to them and they will help you through it.

Everything you want in life has teeth.

I had always liked blind dates. If nothing else, it was an interesting way of discovering what people thought of you.

A short story is a sprint, a novel is a marathon. Sprinters have seconds to get from here to there and then they are finished. Marathoners have to carefully pace themselves so that they don't run out of energy (or in the case of the novelist-- ideas) because they have so far to run. To mix the metaphor, writing a short story is like having a short intense affair, whereas writing a novel is like a long rich marriage.

Ive never seen myself as a fantasy writer-ever.