It’s Called Mind Over Matter. If We

I Think About Old Nick Carrying Me Into The Truck, I'm Dizzy Like I'm Going To Fall Down. "scared Is What You're Feeling," Says Ma, "but Brave Is What You're Doing." "huh?" "scaredybrave." "scave." Word Sandwiches Always Make Her Laugh But I Wasn't Being Funny.

And As The Years Flowed By, Some Villagers Told Travelers Of A Beast And A Beauty Who Lived In The Castle And Could Be Seen Walking On The Battlements, And Others Told Of Two Beauties, And Others, Of Two Beasts.

I'm Named After Jane Austen's Emma, And I've Always Been Able To Relate To Her. She's Strong, Confident But Quite Tactless.

The Great Thing About A Short Story Is That It Doesn't Have To Trawl Through Someone's Whole Life; It Can Come In Glancingly From The Side.

Once I Spent A Whole Day There, A Blade Of Grass In Each Hand To Anchor Me To The Warm Earth. I Watched The Sun Rise, Pass Over My Head And Set. Ladybirds Mated On My Knuckle; A Shrew Nibbled A Hole In My Stocking While I Tried Not To Laugh. Such A Day Was Worth Any Punishment.