My granddaughter, she wanted to come and stay with me. I told her no. I didn't want her breathing that stuff. I'm old. If I die it's okay but she's just starting life.

We've always planned on retiring from here and selling the business, but that may not be the case for us.

We've been here 37 years so it's a pretty big deal for us. It's pretty scary for a small business.

When I wrote 'The Giver,' it contained no so-called 'bad words.' It was set, after all, in a mythical, futuristic, and Utopian society. Not only was there no poverty, divorce, racism, sexism, pollution, or violence in the world of 'The Giver'; there was also careful attention paid to language: to its fluency, precision, and power.

I don't digitally manipulate my images, because I am interested in the spontaneous act of creating images without forethought. I know many artists start with an idea in mind, and then they put it on paper. I don't work that way.

I believe without a single shadow of a doubt that it is necessary for young people to learn to make choices. Learning to make right choices is the only way they will survive in an increasingly frightening world.