I have a wonderful editor who believes in fiction and poetry. She herself is a novelist and poet.

History is beautiful stories or scary stories, yeah.

I'm not a philosopher. I am the next thing to a jock, which is a novelist.

The education of young people is narrowing. They cannot have the scope they used to have. They are being taught in high school by people earnest, still, but maybe less well-prepared than we would want them to be - but not because they are stupid or churlish.

I always want to read Gore Vidal's nonfiction. Because everything he writes is an essay and it's worth reading.

Stephen King has the exact ability that Charles Dickens had. To get to his readers in spite of or despite anything the reviews say.

Never use 'submit' as a verb for sending work to magazine or book publishers; say 'offer,' and never, ever submit. Keep your knees unbent. Be brave.