I was 8 years old when I went across the street from my house to a fair, and they always had a used book sale. For a quarter I bought a book called 'Come On Seabiscuit.' I loved that book. It stayed with me all those years

When he thought of his history, what resonated with him now was not all that he had suffered but the divine love that he believed had intervened to save him.

A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain. Louie thought: Let go.

I think authors can get into trouble viewing the subject matter as their turf

I had been writing professionally since 1988

But with nonfiction, the task is very straightforward: Do the research, tell the story

In terms of writing about horses, I fell backwards into that. I was intent on getting a Ph.D., becoming a professor, and writing on history but I got sick 14 years ago when I was 19. Getting sick derailed that plan completely