If I gave up writing, I'd have to find an equally obsessive way to fill my time. Yarn-bombing skyscrapers or making houses out of empty soda bottles.

Once your writing is out there, you can't control how other people perceive it. All you can do is stand in your truth.

The world is fine. Our place on it is precarious.

I was born on the same day as Edgar Allan Poe and Dolly Parton: January 19. I am absolutely certain that this affects my writing in some way.

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.

If I have a clear spot in my schedule, I like to tackle the heavy scenes that require the heightened emotion and focus of a long writing session. Otherwise, I have daily obligations that can't be ignored.

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