Weakness, like not being able to bury the past. Weakness, like not giving up hope when you know you should.

The lessons learned in journalism also apply. Writing for NPR has taught me to cut a piece in half and then in half again - without losing the essence. Apply that to the swollen prose of a bulky novel and you might reveal a beautiful work.

While I was in college becoming a good Catholic I was also becoming a writer - one haunted by Catholicism.

Love is a luxury. It's something that people are allowed to indulge in when they're not simply trying to survive and keep other people alive.

I prefer true over happy now.

My work is to know the characters intimately and to tell their story.

The basic rule of storytelling is 'show, don't tell.