Plot is a map and I begin with it. It is what made me admire the novels of the 19th century; that the stories are foreshadowed. TheyÕre going someplace.

Whatever I write, no matter how gray or dark the subject matter, it's still going to be a comic novel.

What was even more germane was my study of the history of religion. It was one of the few things in school I was fascinated by.

Don't forget this, too: Rumors aren't interested in the unsensational story; rumors don't care what's true.

YOU LET ME DROWN!” Owen said. “YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! YOU JUST WATCHED ME DROWN! I’M ALREADY DEAD!” he told us. “REMEMBER THAT: YOU LET ME DIE.

Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us?

It was one of those ridiculous arrangements that couples make when they are separating, but before they are divorced - when they still imagine that children and property can be shared with more magnanimity than recrimination.