I'm a writer first and an editor second... or maybe third or even fourth. Successful editing requires a very specific set of skills, and I don't claim to have all of them at my command.

It took me about 12 years to reach my million-word mark. The challenge now is to continue to challenge myself.

I've read short stories that are as dense as a 19th century novel and novels that really are short stories filled with a lot of helium.

Short-story writing requires an exquisite sense of balance. Novelists, frankly, can get away with more. A novel can have a dull spot or two, because the reader has made a different commitment.

I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.

For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel.

One of my great passions is the collection of historical trivia.