Tom, my husband, who converted to Judaism when we got married, and as a consequence, we were learning about historical conversions to Judaism. Really, every time it pops up, it's very strange.

Nobody thinks that there were never mechanical horses in the world. Everybody knows that there aren't really golems.

A good book is a good book, and there are a lot of different ways to approach writing or reading one.

The problems that other writers encounter are so fascinating to me as a writer and as a thinker about writing. I have found that many times, my students are experiencing problems that I myself have experienced in my work, but the solution is different because they're different people.

It would have been a hard year if I'd spent it berating myself for not working on the book.

I think that whether you've just begun writing or whether you've been writing for fifty years - I mean, I'm excited to get there and tell you about it when I do - I think that there's always the challenge of believing in yourself enough to get the work done and not being so taken with yourself that you're unwilling to continue to work on the work.

Trying to talk through and figure out new answers really helps me figure out more about what I'm doing - and what we're all doing.