Those golden minutes before you are completely awake, when your mind is just drifting, you have no censorship; you are ready to develop any kind of idea. That's when I come up with the best and worst ideas. That is the privilege of being a writer - that you can stay in bed for an hour in the morning and it's work time.

What we humans think we know is nothing compared to what we need to believe to numb the fear and pain.

Just imagine walking away from something you've started. Something you really believed would be good. I don't think I could ever do that.

Everything you do leaves traces, doesn't it. The life you've lived is written all over you, for those who can read.

All interesting heroes have an Achilles heel.

My father grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., with my grandparents. In Norwegian my name is pronounced 'Yoo' but my father used to call me 'Joe.'

I was sleeping in a water bed for a couple of years, recommended by my doctor. I was never comfortable in that water bed. In the middle of the night you would hear something happening - water and bubbles. I would always think there was some intelligent life in the water bed.