Fate and victory shift ... now this way, now that way -- like a line of unarmored men under a hail of enemy arrows.

There's a unique bond of trust between readers and authors that I don't believe exists in any other art form; as a reader, I trust a novelist to give me his or her best effort, however flawed.

I loved almost everything about being a teacher, but I was an unusual teacher

Words are the light and sound of our existence, the heat lightning by which the night is illuminated.

History viewed from the inside is always a dark, digestive mess, far different from the easily recognizable cow viewed from afar by historians.

Any allegiance to a deity or concept or universal principal which put obedience above decent behavior toward an innocent human being evil.

In the end--when all else is dust--loyalty to those we love is all we can carry with us to the grave. Faith--true faith--was trusting in that love.