Hemingway said the only way to write about a place is to leave it.

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

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.

What sustains me is to be with my family and to write.

I grew up in Seattle, but I always knew I wanted to leave.

Don Quixote is one that comes to mind in comparison to mine, in that they both involve journeys undertaken by older men. That is unusual, because generally the hero of a journey story is very young.

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.