I'm interested in themes that endure from generation to generation.

When it comes time to sit down and write the next book, you're deathly afraid that you're not up to the task. That was certainly the case with me after Snow Falling on Cedars.

The status quo was rote memorization and recitation in classrooms thronged with passive children who were sternly disciplined when they expressed individual needs.

My father is a practicing criminal law attorney in the Seattle area.

At one level you're condemned to the voice you have. But within those confines, you have a certain amount of freedom to range among your possible voices.

There are things in this universe that we cannot control, and then there are the things we can. . . . Let fate, coincidence, and accident conspire; human beings must act on reason.

What some people interpret as brooding melancholy is serenity. I don't feel required to grasp all the time.

accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.

There's a certain nostalgia and romance in a place you left.

It's a brooding melancholy that haunts me.

I think you have an obligation to share what you know as a writer.

I intend to put up with nothing that I can put

People who say we are just preaching "extreme grace" must not understand how extremely gracious our Father is.

There's a strong message of divine righteousness in dictatorships. Every megalomaniac has to believe his actions are sanctioned by God.

I think that indigenous women's wisdom is crucial. So much of the care of the Earth has come from the mothers. I think it's imperative we turn to their wisdom in how to take care of the planet.

It may be useful to remember that a peacetime political machine is built essentially on patronage.

Better to flee from death than feel its grip.

When she orgasmed, she said his name. Twice. And didn’t it make him glad that even though he had no voice, his ears worked just fine. –JM

If the rules of creativity are the norm for a company, creative people will be the norm.

We must be pure. I do not speak merely of the purity of the senses. We must observe great purity in our will, in our intentions, in all our actions.

Want a closer look? (Tate) Like a screwdriver through my eye socket. Sure, let’s have a look-see. (Simone) Ooo, welcome back, Ms. Snark. I’ve missed you. (Tate)