I don't really think of past experiences as 'mistakes' - I think everything brings us where we need to go and teaches us what we need to learn. I'm grateful for all my wobbles because I wouldn't be here without them.

Writing is hard. It takes commitment and determination and a good part talent. It's not an afterthought, an addendum - it's a career.

Whenever someone asks me for career advice, I always tell them to find a mentor. Find someone who has done what you want to do, and study the way they got there.

Part of the job of a children's author is to write books that will be remembered, definitely, but if I might go out on a limb, I will say that the other part, the more important part, is to build books that will help children fall in love with reading. That, to me, is the real job.