I use a computer, but before I begin each new book I keep a notebook. I write down everything that comes to mind during that period before I actually begin. It might take months or weeks. That notebook is my security blanket so that I never have to face a blank screen (or blank page). But I print out often and my best ideas usually come with a pencil in my hand.

I try to create new characters in each book I write. That's what makes writing fun and interesting for me.

I'm an e-mail junkie though I'm trying to read my in-box only twice a day and to answer all at once.

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.

Sometimes I can't read my own handwriting. That's a problem!

Librarians save lives by handing the right book at the right time to a kid in need.

My mother was my greatest fan.