I wanted to do a collection where the narrator is constant throughout, so that there's a little unity.

I've always liked the classic "young adult" writers like Mark Twain, Jack London, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens. They write so clearly, and they know how to entertain.

I'm not very disciplined. I tend to write late at night because I get distracted during the day.

I'm just a dog person. I love dogs very much, especially big ones, hounds, and retrievers. I think they are funny and often have good senses of humor. Plus, they give unconditional love.

I have two dogs myself and they are always around when I write, so they tend to creep in there.

I like people who lead unusual lives, and very often a person with a disability fits into that category.

I'm trying to write stories that are interesting and enjoyable.

I want the situations and plots to be surprising and unusual.

I know that some of the things which happen in these stories are not likely, but sometimes I wonder if they are not possible in some way.

I've found that I seek out oddballs; I like strange and eccentric people a lot.

Sometimes the autobiographical link in each story is very literal, like I did work at The Texas School for the Blind, and I did once lose a mattress out of the back of a friend's truck.

There is one undeniable truth about our body: it only exists in the present moment.

I have two kids, career and I travel, and I don't think my life is any different than most couples. The most valuable commodity now for many people is time and how to parcel that out.

Ideologies, however appealing, cannot shape the whole structure of perceptions and conduct unless they are embedded in daily experiences that confirm them.

A love that dies has never lived.

It is so important for young girls to be fit. I think sports is the key to success, because the challenges you face in sports prepare you for the rest of your life.

My first crush was my brothers best friend.

Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.

No two men are alike, and both of them are happy for it.

With freedom goes responsibility, a responsibility that can only be met by the individual himself.

Where did you learn to ride anyway? Disasters-R-Us? (Tory)