The desire to write a novel is the single required prerequisite for writing a novel.

Why are we reading a Shakespeare play or 'Huckleberry Finn?' Well, because these works are great, but they also tell us something about the times in which they were created. Unfortunately, previous eras and dead authors often used language or accepted as normal sentiments that we now find unacceptable.

Horse racing is really much more intimidating than anything having to do with literature. When I had horses at the racetrack, I would wake up in terror in a way that I would never wake up while working on a novel.

A novelist is on the cusp between someone who knows everything and someone who knows nothing.

Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.

I was an only child. I've known only children. From this experience, I do believe that the children should outnumber the parents.

Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.