I really had to decide why I was writing. I had no interest in going back to law; I very briefly - for about six hours - considered going to get my MBA, but in the end, I realized that the only work I really wanted to do was write.

I took two fiction-writing courses in college and majored in literature. I felt that I had a knack though I wouldn't go so far as to call it a talent. But it scared me. I felt it was a childish thing wanting to write and that I would forget about it eventually.

I'm a writer, not an editor, and though the editing rarely cut into my writing time, it did take away from that walking-around-thinking-about-it-when-you're-not-thinking-about-it time that I think is important for writers. When you're half-thinking about what you're working on while driving, cooking . . . just letting things sift and settle, come to you.

Late bloomer' is another way of saying 'slow learner.

Americans are incredibly polite as long as they get what they want.

It took me 10 years to write a story that pleased me - that I could look at after it was published and not cringe.

The Kessler Theater is one such gem, an Art Deco beauty … for a slice of real life, there’s always the Kessler.