One of the things I rarely do is write about sex.

Writing a short story is a little like walking into a dark room, finding a light and turning it on. The light is the end of the story.

There is your car and the open road, the fabled lure of random adventure. You stand at the verge, and you could become anything.

It's not like it ruined my life, I was going to say, but then I didn't. Because it occurred to me that maybe it had ruined my life, in a kind of quiet way--a little lie, probably not so vital, insidiously separating me from everyone I loved.

A novel requires a certain kind of world building and also a certain kind of closure, ultimately. Whereas with a short story you have this sense that there are hinges that the reader doesn't see. I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.

One of the things I rarely do is write about sex.

When I was younger I was attracted to people who had that kind of artifice - people who were incredibly polished and had a complex persona that always seemed to be turned on. I was really interested in these kinds of people because I felt so unformed.