Jerry Spinelli

“I never became a cowboy or baseball player, and now I'm beginning to wonder if I ever really became a writer. I find that I hesitate to put that label on myself, to define myself by what I do for a living.”

“Actually, between books is precisely when I do give myself vacations.”

“She was bendable light: she shone around every corner of my day.”

“I have a curious background for someone who turns out to be a writer.”

“Home is everything you can walk to.”

“I was very naive, and I thought it was just a matter of writing my first book and sending it in, and for the rest of my life I would be writing books and collecting royalties. Nobody told me how hard it was going to be to get published.”

“If you believe it, it happens. If you don't, it doesn't. When you believe him, you put your own power in his hands.”

“Tell me I didn't imagine it, Leo. Tell me that even though our bodies were in seperate states, our star selves shared an enchanted place. Tell me that right around noon today (eastern time) you had the strangest sensation: a tiny chill on your shoulder...a flutter in the heart...a shadow of strawberry-banana crossing your tongue...tell me you whispered my name.”

“I would say if you want to write, write what you care about. I think that's the most important thing. I think if you write what you care about, you stand a better chance of having the reader care about your story.”

“Write what you care about. If you do that, you stand the best chance of doing your best writing.”

“Even including myself, my favorite author is Eileen Spinelli, who I happen to live with. She's a terrific writer and has written several of my all-time favorites.”

“I became a children's author by accident.”