I would argue that it might be easier to endure loneliness than to endure the idea that you might disappear.

Orchid hunting is a mortal occupation.

I think of myself as something of a connoisseur of procrastination, creative and dogged in my approach to not getting things done.

Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things - the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space.

You have to simply love writing, and you have to remind yourself often that you love it.

Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.

One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.

There's a marvelous sense of mastery that comes with writing a sentence that sounds exactly as you want it to.

Even after I'd published three books and had been writing full-time for twenty years, my father continued to urge me to go to law school.

I started writing to make sense of the world that exists inside my heart

Games lubricate the body and mind.

Never make the mistake of believing forberance equates to acceptance, or that all positions are equally valid.

As she put it, she knew of nothing so ravishing as having a child whom she could whip whenever she was in a bad mood.("The Queen Fantasque")

I always try to keep that feeling of being on the edge. I'm afraid of knowing too well and seeming mechanical.

We cannot go on fiddling while the earth's wild places burn.

But even though there were plenty of teeth in the grin, there was no heart.

The infinity of this vacancy, the pervasive pain, the longing for some spirit, some lightness, some joy - that's all that is left.

I try my best to learn from other people's mistakes. I have a lot of respect for people who can change.

I can make any type of music, so I wouldn't want to describe myself as having one type of sound. I think music is about keeping it diverse.