"Ever since I was really little, I've had characters that were in my mind."

"I've always said fantasy is sort of 'stealth philosophy'."

"If God is so powerful, can he create a rock which he cannot lift?"

"The first step to believing something is true is wanting to believe it is true... or being afraid it is."

"Fantasy allows you bend the world and the situation to more clearly focus on the moral aspects of what's happening. In fantasy you can distill life down to the essence of your story."

"I hate telling that story to people who've been struggling for years."

"Your life is yours and yours alone. Rise up and live it."

"No one ever goes into battle thinking God is on the other side."

"I had to live this long, have the experiences I've had, to create what I do. I knew I wanted to write for years, but I had to be ready so I wouldn't blow it. The move to Maine was the final step."

"The worse you are at thinking, the better you are at drinking."

"It allows you to say things that sound very dramatic and get away with it. If you had characters in modern fiction say the same things as they're driving down the street in an Oldsmobile they'd sound ludicrous!"

"I felt like I'd been misplaced in the cosmos and I belonged in Maine."

"After that, I came back every year. Everyone said, 'Well, when you retire you can move there.' But I said, 'Why should I live my whole life where I don't want to be.'"

"Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed."