I am no theologian. I would not be surprised, however, if Heaven proved to be a cozy kitchen, where delicious treats appeared in the oven and in the refrigerator whenever you wanted them, and where the cupboards were full of good books.

What popped up more than that was the realization that I made as an adult that the world is this incredibly complex, layered, and mysterious place and if you stop and think about it the human cell is literally more complex than a fleet of 747s.

You can't always win arguments as a writer, but you have to just go ahead and say, well, I'm doing it that way anyway.

Are you prepared for the first wound?

Have fun, entertain yourself with your work, make yourself laugh and cry with your own stories, make yourself shiver in suspense along with your characters. If you can do that, then you will most likely find a large audience; but even if a large audience is never found, you'll have a happy life.

Never, never try to scope the market.

Change isn't easy. Changing the way you live means changing the way you think, means changing what you believe about life. That's hard.