Had I been blessed with even limited access to my own mind there would have been no reason to write.

Memory fades, memory adjusts, memory conforms to what we think we remember.

The apparent ease of California life is an illusion, and those who believe the illusion will live here in only the most temporary way.

When I'm working on a book, I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm.

I never actually learned the rules of grammar, relying instead only on what sounded right.

California: The west coast of Iowa.

Discovery still happens in the writing. You start in nonfiction with a whole lot more going for you, because all the discovery isn't waiting to be made. You've made some of it in the research. As you get deeper into a piece and do more research, the notes are in the direction of the piece - you're actually writing it.