While I find inspiration in real life, the actual stories are, thankfully, works of fiction - which, given the considerable turmoil in my character's lives, is probably a good thing!

You never answered my question, about what you want to do with your life. Maybe my dreams aren't that complicated. Maybe I think that a job is just a job. What does that mean? Maybe I don't want to be defined by what I do. Maybe I'd like to be defined by what I am.

Because publishing is becoming more business-oriented each day with more examination of the bottom line, it's harder to break out than ever.

But a risk-free life wasn't much of a life, really, and if she was going to change, she might as well start now.

That he would love her no matter what she told him, and that he was the kind of man who loved her already and would love her forever.

God is the most important thing in our lives. I suppose that's true of everybody's lives, whether or not they want to believe it.

Early on, he'd learned to enjoy simple things, things that couldn't be bought, and he had a hard time understanding people who felt otherwise.