My own eyes try to sleep, but they don't. They stay wide awake as time snarls forward and silence drops down, like measured thought.

My voice is like a rumour. I'm not sure if it came out or not, or if it is true.

...they watched the humans disappear. They watched them dissolve, like moving tablets in the humid air.

Competence was attractive.

I like to tell students, 'I didn't burst on to the literary scene.' I'm never good at things at the beginning. I was terrible at the start. I need to work and work.

As far as this categorization of books, the way I see it is there are really a hundred-odd categories of books plus one, and on the top shelf at home, I've got the books I love, my favorite books, and that's the type of book that I want to write.

Death waits for no man - and if he does, he doesn't usually wait for very long.