I struggled for a long time to get anything published.

I just love historical fiction.

Who knew that listening to a guy sleep could be so much deeper than sleeping with a guy.

Hope is the crystal meth of emotions. It hooks you fast and kills you hard.

I think your vision gets better as you get older.

I play until my fingertips are raw. Until I rip a nail and bleed on the strings. Until my hands hurt so bad I forget my heart does.

Because I'm on the phone, Mom!" "Fooling around with your friends again! Who is that?" "Ahmadinejad." "Oh, my goodness! What is he saying?" "That he wants to see Jeezy at the Beacon tonight. Putin's going too. He scalped a ticket from Kim Jong Il. All tha gangstas are going." "Don't be so fresh, young man!" "Gotta go," he says to me. "Enemy forces have dropped a Momshell." "Fall back, solider. Over and out.