I like to be surprised. Fresh implications and plot twists erupt as a story unfolds. Characters develop backgrounds, adding depth and feeling. Writing feels like exploring

Prison for the crime of puberty -- that was how secondary school had seemed.

If you have other things in your life-family, friends, good productive day work-these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer.

I find humans tremendously interesting

In the book, America had already been weakened by bio terror plagues before waves of selfish violence took down the rest. But the real enemy was the kind of male human being who nurses fantasies of violent glory at the expense of his fellow citizens.

If you believe you can make a living as a writer, you already have enough ego.

Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy.