I will be brave, thought Despereaux. I will try to be brave like a knight in shining armour. I will be brave for the Princess Pea.

Things are not at all what they seem to be: oh no, not at all.

You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next.

If you have no intention of loving or being loved, the whole journey is pointless.

As far as books getting turned into movies, I fared very, very well.

Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.

[A businessmen in plane after 9\11] asked me, "What are you working on now?" And I said I was writing a story about a mouse who tries to save a princess. I was mortified. Here the world is falling down around us, and I'm trying to tell the story about a mouse who saves a princess. I said "It doesn't matter at all now."