There's a lot that is awful. That's the struggle of getting old. To make sure you don't let what's hard...obscure the beauty.

We'd need a miracle," he says. "A real one. Do you think those happen anymore?

My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and am so disconnected from that process that it seems almost imaginary. With 'How to Save a Life', I worked closely with Usborne editors and have been involved in the publicity.

What brings two people together anyway?

Your greatest creation is your creative life. It's all in your hands. Rejection can't take it away; reviews can't take it away. The life you create for yourself as an artist, may be the only thing that's really yours. Create a life you can center yourself in calmly as you wait for your work to grow.

The Lord doesn't give a person more than he knows they can bear.

It's just so out of control. Life, I mean. The way it flies off in all these different directions without your permission.