I smoke cigarettes when I write, which is disgusting, but it really helps me.

Going out into the country after living in the city is a loss of control.

Someone asked me when it was that I felt confident enough in my writing that I could rely on it as a career. The truth is, I never have. I'm always on the hunt for second, third, or fourth careers. Private detective and cinematographer were previous career choices, but now that I'm older I think I'd be a good portrait painter, rug merchant, or florist.

Now we're in an age of singles. It's actually always been more about singles for most of music history.

Both my parents were big readers. My dad liked more macho adventure books like Shogun or spy novels. My mother reads murder mysteries. In fact, so does her mother, my grandma.

We lost so many talented artists and writers from the generations before ours that we're really lacking older figureheads.

I feel that I'm solid at description.