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.

My favorite food is deep-fried ravioli. I always get that every year.

There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.

We all live in fear of getting blocked no matter what kind of art we're trying to do. It happens all the time, but I prefer to think of it as a bad day.

How will the world change if we do not question it?

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.

Love is in all of the books, and that's the connective tissue between them. There's a lot of hope in me; I can feel it. These stories are balls of light for me.