Our ability to factory farm animals is coldly psychopathic.

I usually tame my off-kilter sense of humor for novels.

I miss smoking (two to four packs a day) but I don't miss the crackle in my lungs when I breathed.

Dad and Mom were frustrated artists - Dad wanted to study engineering or architecture and Mom wanted to be an actress - but the world was a different place when they were young so Dad became a public works foreman and Mom became a stay-at-home mom. When I said I wanted to be a writer, they were thrilled. They did everything in their power to support me.

In general, I'm careful when I'm dealing with subjects of deep cultural importance and write with abandon when I'm dealing with issues of personal dysfunction.

I think the best advice I got was to not worry about what other people would think while you were working on your first draft. Focus on getting it out of your head. You can always edit the manuscript later.

We can be the new brand of self-extincting dinosaurs or we can evolve.