Norah watched him, serious and utterly absorbed in his task, overcome by the simple fact of his existence.

It seemed there was no end at all to the lies a person could tell, once she got started.

The Lake of Dreams grew gradually, over many years, elements and ideas accruing until they gained enough critical mass to become a novel.

They turned a distracted gaze on the world, wide-eyed, somehow, and questioning.

Your understanding of a place changes the longer you stay; you discover more, and your own life gets woven into the fabric of the community.

It's funny how things seem different, suddenly.

Then she had been a fiancee, a young wife, and a mother, and she had discovered that these words were far too small ever to contain the experience.