Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.

If my setting is new to a reader, or the concerns of the novel are new, I hope they will learn something about the world. I would like to say that they can trust that what they do learn in the novel will be accurate, because I pay a lot of attention to facts. I do a lot of research to make sure that I'm not giving them, you know, blue moons of Jupiter. It's not science fiction.

Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.

There is something in us that loves certain disasters and the fever of this moment and surrendering to that.

Quit smoking, and observe posted speed limits. This will improve your odds of getting old enough to be wise.

The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words.

Your dreams, what you hope for and all that, it's not separate from your life. It grows right up out of it.