I'm grateful for every teacher or librarian who reads a book and says, "This is exactly the book that so-and-so needs to read; I'll get it in his hands." I'm amazed at the network of adults who make sure that kids get books.

This is the danger of loving: No matter how powerful you are, no matter how many kingdoms you rule, you cannot stop those you love from dying.

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.

I am really an introvert, and I need that time alone for a variety of reasons.

Most of my books begin with an image or a voice - one small thing - and I don't know what it is going to become.

No matter how hard you try to be present at home, you're always doing the things that you have to do.

That is surely the truth, at least for now. But perhaps you have not noticed: the truth is forever changing.