I believe that every person is born with talent.

Never, never let a person know you're frightened. And a group of them ... absolutely never. Fear brings out the worst in everybody.

In a long meter hymn, a singer - they call it 'lays out a line.' And then the whole church joins in in repeating that line. And they form a wall of harmony so tight, you can't wedge a pin between it.

The woman who survives intact and happy must be at once tender and tough.

When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.

Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.

I never have written every day. When I'm writing a book, I write Monday through Friday. I always try to take Saturday and pretend to have some sanity.