When the reader hears strong echoes of his or her own life and beliefs, he or she is apt to become more invested in the story.

I understand from my own work that haste makes waste. But I also understand that ... the creative spark dims, and then death puts it out. William Shakespeare, for instance, hasn’t produced a new play for 400 years. That, my friends, is a long dry spell.

I can't see the future, but it's grim. The depletion of resources - we're living in this dine-and-dash economy.

I love my sons and I love that they are writers - I also love my daughter, who's a minister and an orchard keeper! - but I wouldn't wish the burden of Mid-World and the Dark Tower on them. I enjoy working with them, though, because we fit together.

Life turns on a dime.

We never cease wanting what we want, whether it's good for us or not.

They had discovered one could grow as hungry for light as for food.