Thank God Roxane Coss had not fallen in love with one of the Russians. She doubted they could make it up the stairs without stopping for a cigarette and telling at least one loud story that no one could understand.

I love a large cast of characters. That's the way life is: it's flooded with people and we keep them all straight.

When I wrote nonfiction, my best work was the really personal stuff.

I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.

People gave me such a bad time about wanting a baby. I didn't want a baby, and I still don't. I wanted a dog.

People always say, "Can writing be taught?" I always think, I can teach you how to write a better sentence, how to do dialogue, how to do character, but I can't teach you how to be a decent person, and I can't teach you how to have something to say.

Part of it is living in Tennessee. I'm so out of the loop. And as a person, I'm out of the loop. I'm oblivious by nature.