The universe may be tenderly indifferent to our fate, but we shouldn’t be. We are our brothers’ keepers. There is right, and there is wrong. There are consequences to our actions or inactions. Disregard can be an act of violence.

I grew up in a house without many books. The books the nuns made us read in school didn't interest me.

I was always writing. I just didn't know if I was any good.

At the heart of all good fiction and at the heart of all good gossip is the same thing: trouble.

Novels are written, not wished into existence. You have to sit your ass in the chair or nothing gets done.

I revise like crazy. I start revising before the pen hits the paper.

Drug programs began to turn their attention and money away from prevention and into maintenance. Methadone was cheaper than social workers, I suppose.