I was a fearful kid and, for some crazy reason, a pretty fearless writer.

A good writer is always a people watcher.

Librarians save lives: by handing the right book, at the right time, to a kid in need

When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a cowgirl, a detective, a spy, a great actress, or a ballerina. Not a dentist, like my father, or a homemaker, like my mother - and certainly not a writer, although I always loved to read.

The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.

My mother told me once that she had her talk with God whenever she started a new sweater: 'Please don't take me in the middle of the sweater.' And as soon as she finished knitting a sweater, and it was blocked and put together, she already had the wool to start the next sweater so that nothing bad would happen.