In a lifetime of mistakes, you two are the greatest things that have ever happened to me.

Always stick to the story. It was when you started backtracking that people got in trouble. Interrogation 101.

She couldn't think of anyone else who remotely resembled him. He was complicated, almost contradictory in so many ways, yet simple, a strangely erotic combination. On the surface he was a country boy, home from war, and he probably saw himself in those terms. Yet there was so much more to him. Perhaps it was the poetry that made him different, or perhaps it was the values his father had instilled in him, growing up. Either way, he seemed to savor life more fully than others appeared to, and that was what had first attracted her to him.

I want characters to have voices that feel authentic, unique, honest, fresh and original - all at once. Part of that authenticity is evoking genuine emotion across life - the sadness, passion, love, sense of loss, missed opportunities, and confusion even. All of this helps us realize that our choices do impact the lives that we eventually lead.

Without suffering, there'd be no compassion.

She laughed, and the sound was so melodic that I knew I wanted to hear it again.

Being with him was like toast and butter from the very beginning.