Old characters never die, but I do need to take a break from them in order to create new ones.

So this is always the key: you have to write the book you love, the book that's alive in your heart. That's the one you have to write.

People can't help the way they look, just the way they act.

What really grabs me is when a reader writes to express her personal story and how a book helped her situation, or her acceptance of a situation she can't change. I read some sad cases in my snail and electronic mail. I respond to all I can, affirming that they are the true heroes of life because they are fighting through adversity and surviving.

In truth, I don't want to be there. I don't want to see the light go out of my brother's eyes.

I wanted to show what it's really like for 98 percent of the world's population [in the third world]. Plus, I also see there are an awful lot of young people out there doing good things, and I wanted to give them a platform.

You know not every book has to have a happy ending, but it has to have a satisfying ending.