People who are strangers to liquor are incapable of talking about literature.

Possibly because I've lived so much of my life in difficult circumstances, I think I have a more profound understanding of life.

The act of giving voice to this spiritual suffering is, in my view, the sacred duty of the writer.

I'll continue on the path I've been taking, feet on the ground, describing people's lives, describing people's emotions, writing from the standpoint of the ordinary people.

When I write, I try to represent the ordinary person in the pew, which means that, ironically, I'm qualified to write about prayer by being unqualified!

A writer should bury his thoughts deep and convey them through the characters in his novel.

I have always been independent. I like it that way. When someone forces me to do something, I don't do it.