I read so I can live more than one life in more than one place.

Time, in general, has always been a central obsession of mine - what it does to people, how it can constitute a plot all on its own. So naturally, I am interested in old age.

I expect that any day now, I will have said all I have to say; I'll have used up all my characters, and then I'll be free to get on with my real life.

I can never tell ahead of time which book will give me trouble - some balk every step of the way, others seem to write themselves - but certainly the mechanics of writing, finding the time and the psychic space, are easier now that my children are grown.

View your burden as a gift. It's the theme that has been given you to work with. Accept that and lean into it.

... everyone must play his role.

When I'm working on something, I proceed as if no one else will ever read it.