If somebody says your story is only published because you look nice in the photo, that maybe spurs you on to write.

I like it when someone gives me a new book of poetry by a poet I haven't read.

Research for fiction is a funny thing: you go looking for one piece of information, and find something altogether different.

Alice Munro is a particular kind of short story writer in that she writes long, character-driven short stories.

I'm not a big Woody Allen fan, but thought 'Husbands and Wives' was great.

I can't listen to music when I'm writing. I like music best in a car or on the train.

I think the few writers who influenced me most in writing short stories are Alice Munro and Grace Paley. They're very different, and I can't do what they do, but reading them gives me hope that I'll learn something from them.