And in some of the houses, people were getting old and sick and were dying, leaving others to grieve. It was happening all the time, unnoticed, and it was the thing that really mattered. What really mattered in life, what gave it weight, was death.

I approach writing female characters the same why I approach writing male characters. I never think I'm writing about women, I think I'm writing about one woman, one person. And I try to imagine what she is like, and endow her with a lot of my own thoughts and history.

Detroit's a great music town. If your interaction with it was mainly musical, I'm sure you have a good opinion of the place.

I'm hopefully making the reader feel a lot about the characters and then about their own life.

I spend most of every day writing. I like to write every day if I can. I don't start extremely early.

Regret, already sogging me down, burst its dam. It seeped into my legs, it pooled in my heart.

Capitalism has resulted in material well-being but spiritual bankruptcy.