The short story, I should point out, is perforce a labor of love in today's literary world; there's precious little economic incentive to write one.

Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.

Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.

The less attention I pay to what people want and the more attention I pay to just writing the book I want to write, the better I do.

Ideas come to people who are receptive to them.

It's the easiest thing in the world to know God's will. You just wait and see what happens, and that's it.

If you cannot stand a spoon upright in the cup, then the coffee is too weak.

I can't persuade myself that one of the problems facing the planet today might be a shortage of books by me.

Every year there's a few more things I'm not sure of. I've decided that a wide-ranging uncertainty is the mark of the true maturity of man.

I never know what I'm going to write next, and when I think I do I usually turn out to be mistaken.

Why on earth should I care whether people read me with their eyes or their ears?

What I want is so simple I almost can’t say it: elementary kindness.

Lack of something to feel important about is almost the greatest tragedy a man may have.

I think Dostoevsky was right that every human being must have a point at which he stands against the culture where he says this is me and the damned world can go to hell.

Don't ignore the five senses in search of a sixth.

The anguish of death hangs over and leads the human spirit to wonder about the mysteries of existence, man's destiny, life, the world.

I am one who eats breakfast gazing at morning glories.

I don't have a normal job, so I really appreciate having friends who are writers and artists. It's fun to have a group of people you can call in the middle of the day to go for a hike.

She squinted up at him. "But I haven't always made good decisions." Pastor Harris smiled. "All that shows is that you're human.

One of the remarkable things about my career is that it has been marked by steady, incremental progress. No sudden spikes up, and no sudden downfalls, either.

Let us honor the blood of Jesus Christ every moment of our lives, and we will be sweet in our souls.