I always thought everybody made up stories in their heads - never thought about actually writing them down on paper until I was snowed in with the kids in the blizzard of '79 - 3 feet of snow. I live in a rural area and was stuck. No morning kindergarten - it was a nightmare.

Every single book is a challenge.

Anyone that has character leaves a mark on another. Would you like to leave the world without making a ripple?

You're the woman in my life,” he said. “Another thing about me and my brothers? We look after the women in our lives. We don't know any other way.

Whatever you remember, or feel, you need to know that whatever they were they did one worthwhile thing in their miserable lives. And that was you. Whatever they were, they couldn't destroy that. They couldn't stop you from becoming.

She wants to learn how to handle a gun. Well, I want George Clooney naked in my bed, but I haven't attempted kidnapping. Yet.

You spend your life getting walked on, you learn to recognize the tread.