What I have come to believe is that joy is the twin sister of gratitude. I am most joyful when I am most grateful.

Sometimes you need to give people something that's for them, not just something that makes you feel good giving it.

Death is very mysterious to us. One moment someone is there with us, and the next moment they're not.

. . . Jess believed, that she thought he was the best. It was not the kind of best that counted either at school or at home, but it was a genuine kind of best. He kept the knowledge of it buried inside himself like a pirate treasure. He was rich, very rich, but no one could know about it for now except his fellow outlaw, Julia Edmunds.

As I look back on what I have written, I can see that the very persons who have taken away my time are those who have given me something to say.

It's like the smarter you are, the more things can scare you.

Since my first novel was rescued from a slush pile, it makes me sad that most publishing houses no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts. Nor are many willing to take chances on novels that are not deemed immediately "marketable."