Say what you mean. Say what you see. Make a photograph, if you can, for the reader.

Now panic beats and flutters inside my skull like a flock of starlings locked in an attic.

For me, that emotional payoff is what it’s all about. I want you to laugh or cry when you read a story...or do both at the same time. I want your heart, in other words. If you want to learn something, go to school.

It's actually against my religion to laugh at men who are toting guns.

The thing under my bed waiting to grab my ankle isn't real. I know that, and I also know that if I'm careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle.

My books depend on someone in danger, putting pieces together and figuring things out. They do a lot of thinking, and that gets lost in the movie.

Fault always lies in the same place: with him weak enough to lay blame.