It takes some courage to write fiction about politically controversial topics. The dread is you'll be labeled a political writer.

Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.

I used to think religion was just more of the same thing. Dump responsibility on the big guy. Now I see an importance in that. It's a relief to accept that not everything is under your control.

People's dreams are made out of what they do all day. The same way a dog that runs after rabbits will dream of rabbits. It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.

My morning begins with trying not to get up before the sun rises. But when I do, it's because my head is too full of words, and I just need to get to my desk and start dumping them into a file. I always wake with sentences pouring into my head.

Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.

The truth needs so little rehearsal.

Few people know so clearly what they want. Most people can't even think what to hope for when they throw a penny in a fountain.

Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.

Readers of fiction read, I think, for a deeper embrace of the world, of reality. And that's brave. I never get over being thankful for that - for the courage of my readers.