There's a Buddhist precept that the only thing you deserve is the chance to do the work, and I've been given the chance to do the work.

There can be a lot of longevity in the repetition of things being told again and again in a variety of ways.

The funny thing is, when I've gone through the relentless editing process, my editor and I are amazed the Mercy Watson books still make us laugh. The same jokes that made us laugh the first time around still make us laugh in the 16th rendition.

I hate to cook and love to eat.

This is a wonderful joke to play upon a prisoner, to promise forgiveness.

I actually do like traveling.

The book [The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane] is about the fact that living in this world means that your heart is necessarily going to get broken. But the book also says that's okay. That's the only way to live a truly human life - with your heart getting broken - and eventually getting flooded with love.