I've been a dad since I was nineteen, so I think a lot about fatherhood and the power of that sacrifice in your life.

He found himself in habiting the vast, empty plateau where most people live, between boredom and contentment.

You take something from your past that you're somewhat ashamed about and you write about it from another character's point of view.

If you come from money and you become an addict, you go to the Betty Ford Clinic, you get treatment. If you're living on the street and you're an addict, it's much harder to find your way out.

I doubt the terrorists saw 9/11 as a teaching opportunity. And we're not really a culture geared to anything as humble as 'learning.' But I was disappointed in how quickly everyone wanted to get back to normal. It was as if we watched terrorism on TV for a while, then got bored and turned back to 'American Idol.'

This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep right through your life.

I think the path to becoming a writer has become more through the novel. It's easier to get a novel published than a book of stories, obviously, especially through big publishers.