I was really struck by all these people who had committed suicide. There are videos of all of them talking about why they're so happy to shed their human existence and exit their "vehicles" and I thought, "Why is that?"

I don't think that the people in my stories are lying to themselves. Well, some of them are - everybody is at some level. But there is something about how they all inhabit a narrative of their own making.

Often my characters have some kind of idealism or grand belief that they're pursuing.

People are really stuck on their ideas about themselves.

That's always disappointing when you find a good story and you realize the person has died, because then it's difficult to report.

You exist in the minds of other people.

I've gotten used to spending more time with heavily narrative stories.