I have world class photographic red-eye pretty much all the time. As a general rule, if it's taken with a flash, I look like I am possessed by the blazing forces of darkness, at least in the eye department.

I am amiable. Vague. Puzzled. Messy-haired.

A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.

Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called.

I wish I could Buy Time - just write a cheque, and a few days later a brown cardboard box would arrive at the door containing three months (along with an extra bonus sunny weekend for being a good customer).

I know that this is the internet, and we're all anonymous and all that, but really. It doesn't hurt to try to be nice.

He had kissed her good night that night, and she had tasted like strawberry daiquiris, and he had never wanted to kiss anyone else again.