No one can tell you what you can and cannot put in your book. So be brave and just write!
This is a little secret that all writers share: We have two lives; the one we live on Earth and the one we live in our books.
A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way.
Then I found books that were written much later, as late as 15 years ago. It was very superficial material, but enough to tell me that the genesis of this story was worth exploring.
Most of the books that feature supernatural characters blending with the modern world and are usually set in big cities.
My dream when I was 14 was someday I could have a David Levine caricature of me in 'The New York Review of Books.'
There is a sort of theory that you should adapt bad books because they always make more successful films.
The Koran shows every sign of being thrown together by human beings, as do all the other holy books.
Remember, you are the same today as you will be in five years, except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read. Choose both carefully.
I appreciate a book intended to be judged by its cover. The insincere readers are often weeded out while the sincere readers remain curious.
You are the same today that you are going to be five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.
Book writing is a little different because, in my case, my editor is a year younger than me and basically has the same sensibility as me.
Some books are so vivid, I think the words fell off the page and worked their way inside my head.
When I read a daring book or listen to rebellious music, I feel like I've found what freedom really means.
People who love reading get an instantly warm feeling in their bellies when they hear others describe getting comfortable with a good book.
I know another New York Times bestselling author - Beth Kephart - she self-published one of her books.
No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.
I wrote my first book at eight, all of four pages. At 10, I did a 40-page story. At 12, I wrote two stage plays.
In every book I write, I try to name-check the most prominent influences, or the most prominent conscious influences.
I remember vividly what it's like to read as a 10-year-old - that passionate inhabiting of a book.
I can't write a book like 'Lamb' or 'Fool' every year. It just takes too much research and craft.
