I certainly wasn't born with creative writing. Maybe there's a certain amount of learning and then it's up to the person. I think in the end it's your favourite books that are the best teachers. That's the way I've learned the most, by far.

I s'pose, I can't have it all my own way, can I? You can't drown in a person unless they let you.

Shadows of cloud lurked in the water, like holes the sun forgot about.

Sometimes I think my papa is an accordion. When he looks at me and smiles and breathes, I hear the notes.

The Gunman is useless. I know it. He knows it. The whole bank knows it.

I think she ate a salad and some soup. And loneliness. She ate that, too.

He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.