If asked to name the worst moment of his life, Michael Fisher wouldn't have hesitated to give his answer: it was when the lights went out.

And I had always liked vampire stories because they are great material that can be refashioned in lots of ways.

One of the traps or the pitfalls of writing a trilogy - or a triptych, or whatever term you want to use - is that the second book can be a long second act to get you from book one to book three, which borrows all of its energy from the first book.

If you are writing any book about the end of the world, what you are really writing about is what's worth saving about it.

My inventing time is all done under the influence of aerobic exercise. Basically, I do all my thinking while I run.

I'm an ecumenical reader, grew up with all sorts of fiction, teach writing, went to the Iowa Writers' Workshop, so my tastes and interests are broad.

We live, we die. Somewhere along the way, if we're lucky, we may find someone to help lighten the load.