I'd always rather stand or fall on my own mistakes. There's nothing worse than looking back, in a published book, at a line edit or a copy edit that you felt queasy about and didn't want to take, but took anyway.

They were playing old Bob Dylan, more than perfect for narrow Village streets close to Christmas and the snow whirling down in big feathery flakes, the kind of winter where you want to be walking down a city street with your arm around a girl like on the old record cover.

Everything takes me longer than I expect. It's the sad truth about life

There's nothing like having a sympathetic reader who asks the right questions, who understands what you're trying to achieve and only wants to make it better.

Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.

Still when I lost her, I lost sight of any landmark that might have led me someplace happier, to some more populated or congenial life.

Love doesn't conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool.