An urban novelist never minds a little decay.

Not every novel that wants to be a tragedy gets to be one.

Even if my marriage is falling apart and my children are unhappy, there is still a part of me that says, 'God, this is fascinating!'

Ignorance and bloodlust have a long tradition in the United States, especially in the red states.

Another thing I learned is that novels, even those from apparently distant times and places, remain current and enlightening, and also comforting.

As soon as you bring up money, I notice, conversation gets sociological, then political, then moral.

Combined families often get bad reviews, but the family my children got when they traded away 'the suffocating four-person' nuclear one is one that has benefited all of them.