 I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to get something down on paper. |
| There are no taboos. Every topic is open, however shocking. It is the way that the topics are handled that's important, and that applies whether it is a 15-year-old who is reading your book or someone who is 55. |
| All the stories I'll ever need are right here on Main Street. |
| I take real people and put them in extraordinary situations. |
| I had my bully, and it was excruciating. Not only the bully, but the intimidation I felt. |
| My dream was to be known as a writer and to be able to produce at least one book that would be read by people. That dream came true with the publication of my first novel - and all the rest has been a sweet bonus. |
| Family life was wonderful. The streets were bleak. The playgrounds were bleak. But home was always warm. My mother and father had a great relationship. I always felt 'safe' there. |
| I simply write with an intelligent reader in mind. I don't think about how old they are. |
| You seldom get a censorship attempt from a 14-year-old boy. It's the adults who get upset. |
| I've had aunts and uncles who not only haven't read my books but could hardly believe that I was a writer. |
| The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile. |
| I have always had a sense that we are all pretty much alone in life, particularly in adolescence. |
