Reading was my escape growing up in Ohio. Both of my parents lost their jobs when I was a teen, and it was hard. But I always had my books. Reading gave me a way of living different lives.

I have such admiration and respect for the military and military families.

The worst job I ever had was working in the call center of an electric company. I sat in a tiny cubicle getting yelled at every day so I could earn minimum wage.

Just for me - obviously, not all writers think this - but for me, I feel like seeing my book in Target and Barnes & Noble is pretty successful.

Travel provided many interesting experiences, but perhaps the most useful lesson I learned was that I really had no proficiency for learning the thousands of characters of the written Chinese language.

As an actress who has performed in theater for over 17 years, my experience performing in 'The Color Purple' has been a truly life-changing journey.

Truth is, I've spent much of my life trying, unsuccessfully, to explode the myths about Texas.

There is no substitute for kindness in the home. This lesson I learned from my father. He always listened to my mother's advice. As a result, he was a better, wiser, and kinder man.