Writing is a process and you must trust the process! Fear and anxiety are part of that process along with the enthusaism and the good days and the joy and the passion and the great hopes you have for a book. But when you run into problems, when you get stuck or scared, you must trust that that is part of how a book comes to pass, and what you need to do is get very still and quiet because Self will tell you how to get out of a hole you've dug for yourself.

Happiness is seasonal, like anything else

Life was reduced to its four basic elements: air, food, drink, and a good friend.

People who've had happy childhoods are wonderful, but they're bland... An unhappy childhood compels you to use your imagination to create a world in which you can be happy. Use your old grief. That's the gift you're given.

Give yourself time to get better.

Sometimes I wonder what the difference is between being cautious and being dead.

My job as the writer is to fool you. Your job as the reader is to see if you can catch me at it.