I am certainly a fearful person, but fearless in my writing. So there's that other person inside.

If no one speaks out for [young readers], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the most bland books available. Instead of finding the information they need at the library, instead of finding novels that illuminate life, they will find only those materials to which nobody could possibly object... In this age of censorship I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced — writers’ voices, teachers’ voices, students’ voices — and all because of fear.

you can't deny they ever happened. You can't deny you ever loved them, love them still, even if loving them causes you pain

That's my anxiety dream. I go to the library and all the books on my subject are out.

When I started to write, it was the '70s, and throughout that decade, we didn't have any problems with book challenges or censorship.

When I'm writing a book, you can't think about your audience. You're going to be in big trouble if you think about it. You're got to write from deep inside.

Caitlyn isn't someone to get over. She's someone to come to terms with, the way you have to come to terms with your parents, your siblings. You can't deny they ever happened. You can't deny you ever loved them, love them still, even if loving them causes you pain.