I've found that my first drafts are not so special. But the more I work on them, the better they get. They are more unique and defensible.

I was trained in seismic prospecting. We'd drill a deep hole and put dynamite in the bottom and blow it up remotely, which would give you a cross-sectional picture of the subsurface, which tells you where to drill.

It is very easy for us to go, you know, "I am being cruel to be kind," when really we are just ... being cruel. Because it makes us feel big, or whatever.

I'm finding, as I get older, that I'm not much of a believer in redemption. I mean, I believe in redemption in real life - redemption does happen, and it's cool when it does - but I find myself getting leery of my desire for it in stories (especially my own).

You can say you're a liberal and everybody laughs and it's a good time.

Even the written history [of Abraham Lincoln's times] is poorly understood by most people.

I'm very happy - if I can do even a little bit of work to get the short story out more, I'm thrilled.