I like situations that push a character to the edge.

The feat of surviving is directly related to the capacity of the survivor.

I was haunted by a bear attack that happened in Algonquin Park in 1991. The problem was that I dont believe in ghosts, so that ruled out an exorcism. My other choice was to start writing.

I would get a lot of writing done if I lived in isolation in a cave under a swamp.

The body needs food, warmth and water, but your heart needs more.

A young woman hiking alone in the mountains sounds dangerous. In the pre-cell phone era maybe it was, but Ill stop short of calling it foolish.

How do you solve a mystery? How do you write a book? The techniques for starting both are surprisingly similar. Find an intriguing question and, pen and dagger tucked under cloak, search for clues.

Parents spend a lot of time talking over kids. My son went through a vocabulary burst as I was writing The Bear. I thought, What if I just stopped and listened?

I love the Internet, and I love wasting time on the Internet - even though it sometimes ends up being not being a waste of time.

I wondered whether trusting him was merely unwise or if it crossed the line into recklessness, like lying down for a nap in the middle of a road.

Like every living thing its prime characteristic is a blind, unreasoned instinct to survive.

Judge me if you want to. And as a matter of fact, it won't even count, 'cause the only person who can judge is God.

But - I cannot make a choice. I have my own sorrow, but I suffer with him, too; I share his pain. I understand all - that is my trouble.

There are also people who lived in either side of Germany, but who never had or have any relationship with the other side whether it was former East or former West Germany.

Its important for us as Democrats to stick together.

Oh love, rose made wet by mermaids and foams, fire that dances and climbs up the invisible stairs and awakens the blood in the tunnel of sleeplessness.

We all get old, but I always say the skinny, pretty girls will be screwed.

After the Soviet Union collapsed, people thought I wasn't funny anymore.