The funny thing is, about the time I let go of any aspiration toward worldly success, that's about the time I started writing decent work.

If you could figure out how to live with family then you'd gone a long way toward finding your peace.

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

I thought when I started writing that I'd have a book out in four or five years, and as it became apparent that that wasn't going to happen, I became increasingly frustrated and unsure of myself.

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

It's amazing what happens when you stick yourself in a place and let things take their more or less natural course.

I quit law in 1988 to start writing, and it took me 17 years from that point to get a book contract. I guess you can say I was on the slow train.