It is a good idea to know which publishers publish which stories. For example, there is no sense in sending a picture book text to a publisher who does not publish picture books.

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.

There is no beyond, there is only here, the infinitely small, infinitely great and utterly demanding present.

No! Leadership is not the business of people who need to be motivated!

The light that brings the dawn.

I think personally it's not good for anyone - I don't think infidelity leads to happiness. It's painful for the person being cheated on, but also for the person who's cheating.

A friend is never an imposition.

Aqualung is one that my brother turned me onto. It wasn't that hard-rocking, but Martin Barre had a really good sound. He knew what he was doing.

Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.

My success has surpassed my childhood dreams.

I describe my music as a mix of juices - Tropicana orange juice and a little bit of off-brand pineapple juice. I guess you could call it generic-brand pineapple-wave.

Have a purpose in life, and having it, throw into your work such strength of mind and muscle as God has given you.