Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.

I love picture books. I think some of the best people in children's books are the ones who create their own picture books. I wish I could say I'm one of them, but I'm not.

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

Like my mother said, you can't go back to holding hands

I can't let safety and security become the focus of my life.

[With "Summer Sisters" the publisher] sent me on a big book tour. And it was the most wonderful professional experience of my life. I mean it was like Kleenex on every table wherever I was, friends patting friends on the back and they'd cry and I'd cry.

I'm really quite bad at coming up with plot ideas. I like to create characters and just see what will happen to them when I let them loose!