Faith, Princess," the Prism Cat repeated. "It is a highly underrated weapon against the dark things in this world.

When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.

What I want to write about has changed somewhat, and the scope of the storytelling has changed accordingly.

If you don't think there is magic in writing, you probably won't write anything magical.

My breakthrough as a reader was when I discovered the European adventure story writers - Alexander Dumas, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, to name a few.

I would also argue that there is a good chance that an outline will help you stave off any onslaught of writer's block. Let me advise you right up front that I am not a big believer in writer's block. I think writer's block is God's way of telling you one of two things - that you failed to think your material through sufficiently before you started writing, or that you need a day or two off with your family and friends.

I didn't want readers to have to make allowances for what they couldn't see, but to be able to say to themselves that the fabric of the magic detailed was perfectly believable.