Despereaux Marveled At His Own Bravery. He

Understand, I Had Absolutely No Interest In Writing; I Wanted To Be A Writer.

The Book [the Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane] Is About The Fact That Living In This World Means That Your Heart Is Necessarily Going To Get Broken. But The Book Also Says That's Okay. That's The Only Way To Live A Truly Human Life - With Your Heart Getting Broken - And Eventually Getting Flooded With Love.

So Many Miracles Have Not Yet Happened.

At The Thought Of Being Eaten By Rats, Despereaux Forgot About Being Brave. He Forgot About Not Being A Disappointment. He Felt Himself Heading Into Another Faint. But His Mother, Who Had An Excellent Sense Of Dramatic Timing, Beat Him To It; She Executed A Beautiful, Flawless Swoon, Landing Right At Despereaux's Feet.

The Words, "i Have A Dog Named Winn-dixie," Popped Into My Head In The Voice Of A Small Girl With A Southern Accent. I'd Been Writing Long Enough At That Point To Know Not To Ignore That Kind Of Red Flag. The Next Day, I Put Aside What I'd Been Working On, Started With That One Sentence, And Followed It All The Way To The End.