My father had osteomyelitis-his left arm was withered between his elbow and his shoulder ... . But the amputation of a Stone Age man called Leaf, a stoneworker, does not relate to my father at all.

There's solace in the thought that I will never finish missing her.

There is no remedy for death--or birth--except to hug the spaces in between. Live loud. Live wide. Live tall.

To ask a novelist to talk about his novels is like asking somebody to cook about their dancing.

These are the stories that we tell ourselves and only ourselves, and they are better left unshared.

...crushed between the fears of going forward and the dread of going back.

Secrets are like pregnancies hereabouts. You can hide them for a while but then they will start screaming.

Try pitching a story of happiness to your editors and their toes are going to curl up.

Retiring from writing is not to retire from life, but retiring from writing is to avoid the inevitable bitterness which a writing career is bound to deliver as its end product, in almost every case.

I felt that, in some ways, my novels lacked heart because of the distance between me and the subject matter. But no one wants to read a book based on good health, a happy upbringing, a long marriage.

They were once fairies and elves. Now they are creatures from beyond the stars because you no longer believe in anything but humans.

It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.

We must reach out for our full potential. The potential lies in our inner strength.

Dream big; at least you will have the joy of reaching for the stars instead of living in a box filled with unopened gifts.

A writer falls in love with an idea and gets carried away.

The Universe is worked and guided from within outwards.

Life + a cat ... adds up to an incalculable sum.

Carlisle: "I've seen vampire venom work miracles, but there are conditions that even venom cannot overcome."

I used to be weird about it, but I think sometimes you can learn from watching yourself and all the mistakes you make and try to continue growing. But I'm completely uncomfortable for sure.

When you're working on a project, make sure at least one person knows what they are doing.