It can certainly happen that characters in more sophisticated stories can "take over" as they develop and change the author's original ideas. Well, it certainly happens to me at times.

Every writer has to find their own way into writing.

People can say what they like about the eternal verities, love and truth and so on, but nothing's as eternal as the dishes.

New Zealand is the only country I know well enough to write about. It can sometimes lead to complications.

I don't want to die, really. I'm interested in what happens next, so I've got to keep on.

When you are reading, someone has done a lot of work on your behalf, someone has had ideas and has then written and corrected and improved them so that they can be shared.

By the time ordinary life asserted itself once more, I would feel I had already lived for a while in some other lifetime, that I had even taken over someone else's life.

Will you still love me when I'm a monster?

At this stage I am not involved with young adults as closely as many other writers. My children are grown up and my grandchildren are still quite young.

I've never actually been a fighter myself - fighting tires me out and I'm not an efficient fighter anyway - but I have certainly seen other people have great complicated goes at one another.

I hope I am not too repetitive. However, coming to terms with death is part of the general human situation.

Where others saw gloom, I saw light or lit a candle.

Life is too short for long-term grudges.

The world is on fire, and I'm doing my best to help steer the firetruck.

As Donald Trump's fortunes continue to slide, he's increasingly dragging the fortunes of senate republican's weapon.

Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot understand his deen.

Religion and philosophy have their value, but in the end all we can do is open to mystery and live a path with heart

The best Qualification of a Prophet is to have a good Memory.

Shyness is nice, but shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life that you'd like to.

You don't think about it that often, but you don't realize how many of your friends have come and gone. It makes you feel very fortunate.

Someone once told me that something they really liked about me was that they thought that I was really down to earth and not high-maintenance. I think that was cool. It's important to stay grounded.