"You can take for granted that people know more or less what a street, a shop, a beach, a sky, an oak tree look like. Tell them what makes this one different."

"I started out writing much more science fictiony stuff and writing about science fiction."

"I think the short story is a very underrated art form. We know that novels deserve respect."

"As far as I'm concerned, the entire reason for becoming a writer is not having to get up in the morning."

"To love deeply is to give someone the power to heal what words cannot reach. Such is the immutable nature of understanding."

"We need to accept the seemingly obvious fact that a toxic environment can make people sick and that no amount of medical intervention can protect us. The health care community must become a powerful political lobby for environmental policy and legislation."

"There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard."

"To love deeply is to give someone the power to heal what words cannot reach. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery."