With each book, in each place, I have to keep an ongoing map as I write because otherwise I don't know where I am.

The fantasy that appeals most to people is the kind that's rooted thoroughly in somebody looking around a corner and thinking, 'What if I wandered into this writer's people here?' If you've done your job and made your people and your settings well enough, that adds an extra dimension that you can't buy.

You have an audience that is fairly well grounded in the real world. You serve them and yourself best by making everything as real as possible.

Tamora Pierce Quotes