“I like it when my mother smiles. And I especially like it when I make her smile.”

Isn’t this the truth of any good mother? That in all of our lives.

The table is where the big decisions of the family are made and all the arguing takes place.

Love has a funny way of showing up when you aren’t looking for it and didn’t plan on it.

I’m writing novels because I found something I love because I tried it. Don’t be afraid to shake it up.

Energy has to be fed from a source. If you don’t feed the source, it dissipates entirely.

Don’t worry about bad things that haven’t happened yet. It will save you a lot of anxiety.

Looking back, now, I realize that you only ever need one person who lights up that way when you enter a room.

Furthermore, the writer is not there to see the reaction of the person he writes to, so there’s a great unknown to the process that requires a leap of faith.

I have been a joy to live with all spring: Upbeat, warm and tender, uncomplicated, and loving.

It’s service. And I took that ethic and applied it to my writing craft.

And who encouraged you to grow a good heart. When that layer goes, whatever is left of your childhood goes with her.

Sometimes we get our hearts broken, only to have the right person come along to mend them.

It doesn’t. What matters is what you make. Whether it’s a cake for bingo night or a costume for a saint or a wall of water-whatever you pour into this life is what makes you rich.

If there is one thing I hope my books do always and forever, its that they honor working people.

Same is true of liking a boy. If you cut off the thoughts, if you stop pinning, you’re free to find a boy who is attainable.

I even love the smell of books.

My songs are like my kids.

I was about 16 when punk started to happen… It felt like you had this naive idea that you could change things just by wearing something.

This is what you must be like. Grow wherever life puts you down.

When I was outed, it was like, That’s done.

Even though running is physically straining, it’s mentally refreshing. Especially when you feel like you’ve accomplished something.

I just liked to play football, no matter what the position.

At the time, number four of the Skarsgård actors. So in high school I majored in science and was like, “Maybe I’ll do something rebellious and become a doctor.”

Love is like air we can’t see it but feel it.