Actually, my first literary heroes were the Romantic poets, so I began to get serious by writing poems. I have notebooks full of them that I cherish but am afraid to look at.

I think I've learned to be mindful. I may not have taken the time to try to understand narrative techniques, let's say, with any rigor, if I did not also have to try to explain those techniques to someone else.

The landscape of childhood shapes us as it shapes the characters in our stories. You never forget the sacred places of your childhood.

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

Pleasure is, after all, a luxury. It's love that's essential.

Reading is also a creative activity if you're doing it right. You can learn more from a story that's left the tracks than from a successful story.

Actually, my first literary heroes were the Romantic poets, so I began to get serious by writing poems. I have notebooks full of them that I cherish but am afraid to look at.