Mercy Watson is a pig. She lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson, who are not pigs. I had that basic premise, but I couldn't make it work. I would come back to it, try it, see that I was failing, and put it aside.

If there is anything that I think I might use later, I underline it.

The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.

The way we started was, Alison [McGhee] said, 'Tall girl, short girl.' We had no plans beyond that.

I'm just doing what I've done my whole life, which is talking to people about books and making them read. It's what I do in my friendships. "Here, you have to read this, you have to read this."

A friend of mine said Winn-Dixie is the way that people want the world to be and Tiger Rising is the way that it is.

I work full-time in a used bookstore. I get up. I drink a cup of coffee. I think, The last thing I want to do is write. Then I go to the computer and write.