Every spare second I would write, somehow. On my lunch hour, too.

I always had this non-stop drive. I had to keep sending stories out and every once in awhile I'd get something accepted or get the little trickle of positive feedback.

Each book will have a lot of cliffhangers, because I like that.

A moment of consideration often prevents a thousand apologies

Over the years, I've trained myself to speak using the same language I would use if I were typing: meaning using full sentences in the way that paragraphs and scenes are arranged.

My dad is a bank president and my mom was an accountant and they didn't think that seeking the life of a freelance writer was very practical, you see. Of course, I was just as determined to do it.

If you had an alien race that looked like insects, then they would build robots to look like themselves, not to look like people.

The real key is time management and being able to focus on what you need to, on using every available minute to accomplish something that needs to be done.

One of the things that was kind of shocking for humans... was to come to terms with was the fact that, hey, we may not be the center of the universe.

Wouldn't you like to have an augmented memory chip that you could plug into your head so you don't have to look everything up and remember everything?

There is grand romance in The Lord of the Rings. It's an important part of epic literature.

First you be a hero and then raise your child to be a hero.

I grow old … I grow old …

We are the recorders and reporters of facts - not the judges of the behaviors we describe.

I'm an adequatist! I would be happy with something adequate. Perfection's out of the question.

We're used to comeback stories in the world of sports, but the Gail Devers story is remarkable. This is a comeback from an illness which almost killed her.

To kill a relative of whom you are tired is something. But to inherit his property afterwards, that is genuine pleasure.

I usually play characters that are a lot different than me. I mean, I'm never in a fight in a movie and if I'm in them, I'm usually losing.

And, by the way, one of the most delightful things I find in America is meeting a people without prejudice -- everywhere open to the truth.

I sing, I clean house, I write poetry. I cry. And I tell everyone I can, "I Believe in YOU."

If I stay alert, then I can challenge myself, and by challenging myself, that helps me to stay alive and to hopefully take something away from the experience.