I am excited by... the new novel by Samantha Hunt. She's a writer I really admire a lot.

God howls with laughter at earthly plans, you know?

The process of composition, messing around with paragraphs and trying to make really good prose, is hardwired into my personality.

The Great Recession is not imaginary, and the effects loom large. There was an article in the NYT about the galloping death rate among white men in middle age. Higher than among any other demographic, etc. Mostly death by drugs, alcohol, or suicide. Many of them rural. My feeling is that it's many people who haven't been able to get back into the work force. Reg Morse is an example of the problem.

Genre is a bookstore problem, not a literary problem.

I'm not the guy to ask about the most up to date stuff.

In general, each form is a relief from the other forms. I can't write a novel after a novel. I just use up all the material each time, and I need to rest.