The worst vulgarity is to avoid vulgarity solely on the grounds that it is vulgar.

Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?

The bitterness of joy lies in the knowledge that is cannot last. Nor should joy last beyond a certain season, for, after that season, even joy would become merely habit.

She looked, and a scarlet butterfly flew away from her, away down the length of the tower, and then another, another, an unraveling scarf of butterflies like winged blood.

Archetypes are universal, and, in subtle or extravagant ways, interchangeable.

We need the expressive arts, the ancient scribes, the storytellers, the priests.

The soul is a magician. Only living flesh hampers it.

When I am fascinated by something, I like to play with it.

I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish to escape the feared and hated drudgery of normal work.

No one is ever ordinary.

Maidens who stay maidens turn into saints. Old women become sorceresses. Tough jobs, both of these.

You have to search the absolute demons of your soul to make a great record.

Words can express true feelings, true emotions and wisdom. It is up to you to use them wisely... Choose your words carefully and express the peacefully!

Our tainted world looms within us, every one.

If love means never having to say you're sorry, then marriage means always having to say everything twice.

Adversity is preparation for greatness.

Health begins with firmness in the body, deepens to emotional stability, then leads to intellectual clarity, wisdom and finally the unveiling of the soul.

For Chelsea, I would turn down every job in the world.

Which is strange - I've always thought of myself as someone who writes out of difficulty. And I did do that, but I came out on the side of light more often than not.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

I don't have any system. I dictate a lot, through a machine, and I also have a secretary. But I used to type just like everybody else.