I'm writing for my ideal reader, for somebody who's willing to take the time, who's willing to get lost in a new world, who's willing to do their part. But then I have to do my part and give them a sound and a voice that they believe in enough to keep going.

I don't especially like to travel, not the way many people do. I know many people that love to go to far-off and different places, and I've never been like that. I seem to get homesick as quickly as a child.

No exchange rate for the confidence of youth.

Or maybe, he thought, returning to the boxes, it was part of being Catholic--you were made to feel guilty about everything

If you get divorced in New York, you go into therapy and will talk to anybody you meet on the sidewalk about it.

I love theater. I love sitting in an audience and having the actors right there, playing out what it means to be a human being.

Without a doubt my mother was an inspiration for my writing. This is true in many ways, but mostly because she is a wonderful storyteller, without even knowing it.