And I say, “Every single dollar that was spent on the space program, went into the pockets of the individuals who worked on it: the contractors, the subcontractors, the vendors. It went to feed their children, put clothes on their back, send them to school.…If we are going to be the leaders of the world, and we are going to worry about trade balance, if we are going to worry about military systems, or solving the problems of the environment, we are going to have to continue to spend money on research, medical research as well.

Most people, these days, they don’t even believe in reincarnation. They’d say, you only go around once.

when someone has caused harm, harming them might not be the move.

But a running theme has been how many men have said something along the lines of, “Wow, I was so surprised I loved your book, because I’m a man.” These men mean no harm—I don’t take those comments personally—and yet the fact that they were surprised that they loved a book by and about a woman is an indication of the sexism women writers are up against every time they write.

I sometimes I have the inability to see how I can do what I need to do at a high enough level for me to do it.

At 3am, worry seems to be my default mode.

I don’t think places have essences any more than people do.

Oh yeah. In finishing this book, the last thing that I did, I read every story aloud and made some changes in every one of them.

It just matters how you respond to that having your confidence shaken, that makes you what you are.

Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.