I was sick all the time, one exotic illness after another, which lasted throughout my twenties. My worst decade. But from the day the first book was accepted, I never got sick again. Writing changed my life.

Believe in yourself and you can achieve greatness in your life.

Nothing teaches you as much about writing dialogue as listening to it.

She wondered if all the firsts in her life would go by so quickly, and be forgotten just as quickly.

My husband says I have too much imagination, but I don't think a writer can have too much imagination!

I know where "Blubber" came from. It came from stories that my daughter told me when she came home from fifth grade. There was a kid in the class who was being bullied. We didn't even call it bullying then, that's what's so weird. Victimization in the classroom. The word bully was so out, was so not in use for all those years and now it's back big time.

It's strange, but when it comes right down to it I never do fall apart--even when I'm sure I will.