Don't trust women, my mother said to me. Even the ugly ones will take what you thought was yours.

I think people are sometime reluctant to read outside of their own race. This is heartbreaking.

To watch your home change in front of you is surprising. But at the same time, going someplace like Mississippi, makes me appreciate even this.

Seems like every time life starts straightening itself out, something's gotta go and happen.

There's me in every character I put on the pages.

You have those walls up all around you...Come a day you gonna want to tear them down brick by brick and gonna find that the cement is all hard. What you gonna do then?

Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If they're interesting to me, my hope is that they'll be interesting to others as well.