The happiest I have ever been is in the life that I led with my wife and kids.

That's how I work, whether with stories or novels - they start with an image that comes to me in a daydream, and a lot of times I'm walking around with these pictures in my head for awhile before I start writing.

People write fiction in their minds all the time - every time we read a 'human interest' news story, or a true crime tale, we find ourselves fascinated because we're trying to understand why people behave the way they do, why they make the choices they do, how we become who we become.

You can go on like this for a very long time, and no one will notice. You keep thinking you're going to hit some sort of bottom, but I'm here to tell you: There is no bottom.

Maybe love, like suffering, is relative.

I think we're always in some ways writing to the teachers who gave us early love.

Writing about women's sexuality is very scary for me because I'm always afraid I'll get it wrong.