I have never been able to understand anyone on this planet who lacks a need for knowledge. Is it not God's greatest gift to us all, this capacity to think, to wonder, to imagine?

Not much comes easy in this world, Sonny. If it does, it's best to be suspicious of it. It's probably not worth much.

Becoming a writer can kind of spoil your reading because you kind of read on tracks. You're reading as someone who wants to enjoy the book but also, as a writer, noticing the techniques that the writer uses and especially the ones that make you want to turn the page to see what happened.

Always I try to write about people. People are interested in other people always.

I would tell people some years later that I was raised an only child and so was my brother.

As I wrote more I became more critical of myself and I think that you have to be your harshest judge. I don't ever believe that what I write is my best work. I always think that I can hone it. I can always think that I can make it a little bit better.

It is better to confess ignorance than provide it.