I have relaxed into my persona as an author, although I used to fight that.

The best advice on writing I've ever received is to take it seriously, because to do it well is all-consuming.

When it comes time to sit down and write the next book, you're deathly afraid that you're not up to the task. That was certainly the case with me after Snow Falling on Cedars.

There are things in this universe that we cannot control, and then there are the things we can. . . . Let fate, coincidence, and accident conspire; human beings must act on reason.

I was born in Washington State and have lived here for 42 plus years.

At one level you're condemned to the voice you have. But within those confines, you have a certain amount of freedom to range among your possible voices.

When I went to college I took a creative writing class and decided in a week to be a writer.