That's how you know you really trust someone, I think; when you don't have to talk all the time to make sure they still like you or prove that you have interesting stuff to say.

I didn't 'decide' to write YA, per se. But every time I thought of a story, it featured characters 15, 16, 17.

I grew up in San Francisco in the 1970s. We were part of a church that belonged to the California Jesus movement.

I played the clarinet, and my sister played the violin... If wed had the discipline and the passion, maybe we could have been good.

Sometimes you want to hear your own mother's voice.

I get a message from my dad. In the mood I'm in, I tear up to see his name in my inbox, and imagine him down the hall in bed, propped on pillows, emailing me. "Hon,Enjoyed our gelato date the other night. I just want to say I'm proud of you for a lot of reasons. Also, I've attached a picture of my foot."He's such a weirdo goofball. I love him.

No one measures a life in weeks and days. You measure life in years and by the things that happen to you.