It's different being afraid when there's the hope it will amount to something.

One thing that worried me was how writers get categorized and so they end up having to write the same kind of book again and again. That is fine if it is what you want to do, but I would rather be locked in the trunk of my car with a weasel than write the same book every three years until I die.

My rule has always been, write the next part of the book that you seem to know well. So I won't necessarily write chapter two after chapter one.

You learn to write by reading, and my experiences and tastes as a reader are pretty wide.

I came to Houston for a job, the reason most people move halfway across the country with a first grader and a five-week-old. I came here to teach at Rice.

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

Miles away from everthing and everyone I've ever known or loved. I feel as if I've entered a new era of my life. What strange places our lives carry us to.