His mind reeled. Now, empowered to ask questions of utmost rudeness-and promised answers-he could, conceivably (though it was almost unimaginable), ask someone, some adult, his father perhaps: "Do you lie?" But he would have no way of knowing if the answer he received was true.

The whole world had changed. Only the fairy tales remained the same. "And they lived happily ever after.

I think I've written 40 books, and none of them have been heavy on action. I'm an introspective person.

She fell asleep, and it was a sleep as thin as the night clouds, dotted with dreams that came and went like the stars.

Every 'no' means you are that much closer to a 'yes.

I knew that there had been times in the past-terrible times-when people had destroyed others in haste,in fear, and had brought about their own destruction

Early on I came to realize something, and it came from the mail I received from kids. That is, kids at that pivotal age, 12, 13 or 14, they're still deeply affected by what they read, some are changed by what they read, books can change the way they feel about the world in general. I don't think that's true of adults as much.