When I write a novel I start each morning by reading for 20 minutes.

Things you did. Things you never did. Things you dreamed. After a long time they run together.

I wouldn't be a very good writer if someone hadn't taught me how to read.

And I think that in myself (and perhaps evident in what I write) fear of loss and the corresponding instinct to protect myself against loss are potent forces.

I have a theory... that someplace at the heart of most compelling stories is something that doesn't make sense.

Even though I get a lot done with my solitude, and I make the best use of it possible, I always think solitude is an interlude in a period of time, which is populated by others.

When I write a novel I start each morning by reading for 20 minutes.