Your first duty as a writer is to write to please yourself. And you have no duty towards anyone else.

Often, what you see in the media is driven by economic forces.

I have certainly amassed many historical research gathering skills.

If the conditions were right there could be great acceptance. Often it is only when they pose an economic or political threat that it turns really ugly.

After working as a journalist I went to a writing program at Johns Hopkins. It was interesting because it was neither journalistic nor historical, but it emphasized writing style, and afterwards I was asked to write my first book.

When you believe you have a future, you think in terms of generations and years. When you do not, you live not just by the day — but by the minute.

I may attempt a novel. I think that no matter what you write, it requires being honest with oneself, and you have to pull yourself out of the whirlwind of daily life.