"I'm always keenly aware that I have a responsibility to do the best I can to live up to John's books, though I'm also aware that I am not John Bellairs and will never be. The best I can do is to keep the characters true to their backgrounds and to write the stories that seem to me to show off their personalities best."

Here, an atomic clock blooms chronons. / Nuclear pistils strike and quiver at the hour. / The bright petals of minutes enfold me.

"You may want to come by some other time, ma'am. Sometimes the Wantas get that way, get a little out of control."