The outline is 95 percent of the book. Then I sit down and write, and that's the easy part.

I like the way words go together and I like the gamesmanship of writing poetry. It is such a challenge.

Too much screaming in Congress. Too much screaming everywhere.

I write pretty much anywhere - on planes, in hotel rooms, anywhere in my house.

The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of other writers you admire.

I spend eight months outlining and researching the novel before I begin to write a single word of the prose.

In general, I think, less is more, and that if a reader stops reading because a book is too icky then I've failed in my obligation to the readers.