But there it is: Everyone is alone, for life, and maybe that's not such a bad thing.

If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to be a great writer, be a man. If you can't be a man, write like one.

My childhood was marked by the great fear of nuclear holocaust. We practiced our Civil Defense Drills, lining up in hallways, curled to the floor, but we knew we'd die or, worse, survive only to suffer radiation and slow death.

Each genre has something to teach me about the others. Not all the lessons are transferable, but many of the most important ones are.

When a colleague of mine had a notable New York Times book, I said, turn one of the chapters in the collection into a pitch for a novel and sell it to your publisher.

Is it wrong to kill something that wants to kill you?

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.