He looked as though his life had not only passed him by but paused along the way to spit in his face.

Such movies are always a danger...falling in love is something most adults have actually experienced...The theme is universal and encourages...unhealthy comparisons...why can't our lives be like that? It's a box left unopened, and its avoidance explains the continued popularity of vampire epics and martial-arts extravaganzas.

I've always had a way with the little people, making it a point to humor them without looking down my nose at their wasted empty lives.

You really burden the reader if you put things in but, "Oh, it's not interesting, but I'll put it in anyway." Then the reader's going to think, like, "Mmm... no thanks." So the thing is to cut all that stuff out before its published.

I like listening to books as well, as that way you can iron at the same time.

Sometimes with 'The New Yorker,' they have grammar rules that just don't feel right in my mouth.

I always knew I wanted it to be illustrated.