I can't say I was a very successful sorority girl.

A writer who has published as many books as I have has developed, of necessity, a hide like a rhino's, while inside there dwells a frail, hopeful butterfly of a spirit.

The punishment – to the body, the brain, the spirit – a man must endure to become even a moderately good boxer is inconceivable to most of us whose idea of personal risk is largely ego-related or emotional.

None of the rest of my life figures here.

What is a family, after all, except memories? Haphazard and precious as the contents of a catch-all drawer in the kitchen.

Though I am never exactly "blocked" I do have difficult periods. I am led by a fascination with material - the challenge of presenting it in an original and engaging way. I have no problem imagining stories, characters, distinctive settings & themes - but the difficulty is choosing a voice & a language in which to present it.

If I'm writing, I'll say something metaphorical or approximate, whereas scientists are very precise.