I was never a big reader as a kid. My imagination wasn't captured by books very often. It was captured more often by boys and partying and riding horses.

I'm of the people in the bar and the people in my stories. They are my tribe.

I grew up with donkeys, as well as horses, but I'm more interested in donkeys.

In fact, when I finally realized I was really going to write, when I was about thirty-four, I was working on my Ph.D. in Mathematics. I was just about to earn my Master's along the way, but I knew something was wrong because I found myself crying all the time.

I can't personally drink or fight too much nowadays because I have to be perky in the morning in order to write.

The best and easiest lesson for me was to learn that writing is mostly hard work.

As a writer, I can live somewhat independently, occupying nooks and crannies and finding meaning there. I can even live in my mind a good portion of most days.