"Being a parent is not for the faint of heart. I may joke about knowing fear, but the fact is, the first time I ever knew real fear was the day Charlotte, my first child, was born. Suddenly there is someone in the world you care about more than anything."

"Frankly I'm fairly boring or fairly busy. Between writing and family, I have little time for anything else."

"I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab people's attention, to keep them turning the pages, to make them stay awake all night. I want to stir the pulse, yes, but also to stir the heart. I hope 'The Woods' does that."

"No characters in 'Stay Close,' including the leads, are black and white. I want them to be grey. I think that makes for a much more interesting reading experience, something that will stay with you a little bit longer."

"Whatever deceives men seems to produce a magical enchantment."

"Dad taught me everything I know. Unfortunately, he didn't teach me everything he knows."

"Wisdom principle 44 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 45."

"When I was a kid, it was a huge insult to be a geek. Now it's a point of pride in a weird way."