All stories I write are compulsive. Anything I’ve ever written was because I don’t have a choice. I write stories because I can’t wait to tell it, I can’t wait to see how it ends.

But time, it is like charm. You never have as much as you think.

I will say that there is an inordinate amount of medicine in my novels, especially the first one. There are a lot of medical things that happen. A hip fracture, three different kinds of lung cancer, pneumonia, blood poisoning, and so on.

yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism

A stubborn ass needs a stubborn driver

I was overwhelmed with the kindness of people [in Afghanistan] and found that they had managed to retain their dignity, their pride, and their hospitality under unspeakably bleak conditions.

Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors.