“My favorite splurge is homemade chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream or a Sausage McMuffin with egg or scalloped potatoes or turkey yanked right off the carcass and dipped in gravy or See's...”

“I think titles are extremely important for novels: They can set the tone, tip you off, serve as shorthand for what the essential contents are.”

“A ritual or tradition can be as simple as something you do every night, like read a story to a small child, or something you do weekly, such as go out for Chinese food.”

“There I was, waiting, afraid I’d never experience the kind of joy yet to come, but hoping for it just the same.”