I myself was terrified during the Second World War. The war started when I was six, and I was so sure that we were going to be bombed and killed. My imagination is my biggest plus and my worst minus.

Anyone who has problems, or worries, anyone who laughs and cries, anyone who feels can write. It's only talking on paper... talking about the things that matter to us.

I loved teaching. It was my world. I only left because I was overwhelmed with three careers - teaching, writing, and my family.

Revision is the heart of writing. Every page I do is done over seven or eight times.

To me, family is everything. I want children to realize how important their families are and what a support system a family is.

Everything in my life affects my writing. There are no separate parts of my life.

Many times in my life I've been upset about something and said to myself, "Will this matter in two years?" Not even in two months.

I have no special talent, you know. I never took a writing course before I began to write.

Outside of family, writing is essential. To me, it's like breathing.

I cannot outline. I do not know what the next thing is going to happen in the book until it comes out of my fingers.

All of my books are based in some way on my personal experiences, or the experiences of members of my family, or the stories kids would tell me in school.

The place to cure most of the ills of society is in the homes of the people.

You might have heard that thinking positively helps you get what you wanted but slowly you will realize that it doesn't always help..

It is very sad to see children live like orphans while their parents are still alive. After all, children need the constant love of parents.

There is no other solution to man's progress but the day's honest work the day's honest decisions the day's generous utterances and the day's good deed.

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.

People used what they called a telephone because they hated being close together and they were scared of being alone.

Actually, the reason I look like this is because my father was from Sweden and my mother was Elton John.

When you look at your life the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.

You can't expect yourself to be already peaking like crazy in an exhibition tournament.

You look tired." "Yeah," I agreed, and shrugged. "Near-death experiences do that to me . . .