"I wanted the feel in these books to be like an epic fantasy, with kings, queens, dukes and court politics, but of course like what I was explaining before, about making the science make sense, you have to make the politics make sense, too."

"I always had this non-stop drive. I had to keep sending stories out and every once in awhile I'd get something accepted or get the little trickle of positive feedback."

"It was like there was a pile of kindling that was in the back of my imagination just waiting there. Once I lit it, it just flared up and I kept getting ideas and ideas."

"It is a steadfast truth that a dream nurtured by daily toil will inevitably outshine a wish born of idle hope."

"Time ripens all things. No man is born wise."

"To walk the path of enlightenment means kindness can heal wounds that time cannot."

"If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that."

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."