A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: 'Duh.'

Dr. Johnson has said that the chief glory of a country arises from its authors. But then that is only as they are oracles of wisdom unless they teach virtue they are more worthy of a halter than of the laurel.

There's a unique bond of trust between readers and authors that I don't believe exists in any other art form as a reader I trust a novelist to give me his or her best effort however flawed.

When it comes to locations I'm one of those crazy authors who has to see it touch it taste it before I trust myself to recreate it for my readers. Having said that visiting a locked-down pediatric psych ward was the most intimidating research I've ever done - and I've visited maximum security prisons shooting galleries bone collections etc.

I was one of the first authors to have an active website. I'm totally obsessed with technology. I'm always looking for ways to connect with my readers. I answer all my fan mail.

It's hard for children's authors to be accepted when they try to write adult books. J.K. Rowling is the exception because people are so eager to read anything by her but it took Judy Blume three or four tries before she had a success.

The society of dead authors has this advantage over that of the living: they never flatter us to our faces nor slander us behind our backs nor intrude upon our privacy nor quit their shelves until we take them down.

There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet several of the very best were English majors who could not parse a differential equation to save their lives.

Great authors are admirable in this respect: in every generation they make for disagreement. Through them we become aware of our differences.

Then of course there are those sad occasions when a poet or a writer has not grown and one has to let them go because they're just not making headway. But we have a very clear personal relationship with the authors.