I still believe in the resilience of the human heart and the essential validity of love;I still believe that connections between people can be made and that the spirits which inhabit us sometimes touch. I still believe that the cost of these connections is horribly, outrageously high... and I still believe that the value received far outweighs the price which must be paid. (From introductory notes.)

Only children tell the whole truth, you know. That's what makes them children.

Bird and bear and hare and fish, give my love her fondest wish.

If I have to spend time in purgatory before going to one place or the other, I guess I'll be all right as long as there's a lending library.

The worst thing you can try to do is to steer the story once it gets going. You just kind of follow along and see where it goes. That's the fun.

Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.

A book is like a pump. It gives nothing unless first you give to it. You prime a pump with your own water, you work the handle with your own strength. You do this because you expect to get back more than you give.