I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated and ever changing contemplation.

The main thing about the novel that is totally fascinating: It's not possessed by the writer; it's possessed by the reader.

Art doesn't exist if you just do what you're told. It only exists as an exercise of individual taste and freedom.

Before I write a novel, images float around in my head that work like icons - they are meaningless in themselves, but serve as reminders.

Candy is my fuel. Ice cream, too.

I had spent years thinking about one thing while I was doing another. I had, in fact, prided myself on being able to do two things at once.

When a novel has 200,000 words, then it is possible for the reader to experience 200,000 delights, and to turn back to the first page of the book and experience them all over again, perhaps more intensely.