A halo surrounded the grim reaper nun, Sister Maria. (By the way-I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe. It amuses me.)

***A Last note from your narrator*** I am haunted by humans.

Liesel shrugged away entirely from the crowd and entered the tide of Jews, weaving through them till she grabbed hold of his arm with her left hand. His face fell on her. It reached down as she tripped, and the Jew,the nasty Jew, helped her up. It took all of his strength.

I'm not one of these 'the characters write themselves; the story just fell out of me' kind of writers. Wish it was like that.

A book floated down the Amper River. A boy jumped in, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. He stood waist-deep in the icy, Decemberish water. “How about a kiss, Saumensch?” he said.

When I find research really rewarding is when one piece of information gives you an idea for a story. That's when it's great.

The book thief has struck for the first time – the beginning of an illustrious career.