Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

Don't call 'em dogs. Dogs are loyal and they run after balls.

Sometimes I like to play the soundtracks to famous musicals so we can all sing along. South Pacific is one of my favorites. Our neighbors must hate us.

The Dancing Girls of Lahore was offered to dozens of British publishers and was turned down by everyone. It is still on offer in the U.K., but I'm not confident there will be any takers.

The importance and influence of books on me has been cumulative: the result of hearing and reading lots of stories about interesting people and places.

I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long.

The richest most meaningful stories are found in small places: made, carried, crafted, told, and retold by apparently unimportant people.