He was wondering if there was some cryptic, cultish mark on his door that told all the crazy people he'd have trouble saying no.

Sooner or later, even the sharpest pain became flattened.

...it's closeness that does you in. Never get too close to people, son.

I think it must be very hard to be one of the new young writers who are urged to put themselves forward when it may be the last thing on earth they'd be good at

None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. - often influence my subject matter.

We stay in the house so much because I am waiting for the telephone. I seem to be back in my teens, a period I thought I would never have to endure again: my life is spent hoping for things that only someone else can bring about.

...he thought of dying as a kind of adventure, something new that he hadn't yet experienced. Like an unusual vacation trip.