I write from seven to about noon. I used to try to write longer, but I read and I found that I was always getting myself tired by working in the afternoon and then I was just throwing out what I wrote in the afternoon, so writing then was counterproductive.

You come in off the street, through the doors of the theater. You sit down. The lights go down and the curtain goes up. And you're in another world

I write from seven to about noon. I used to try to write longer, but I read and I found that I was always getting myself tired by working in the afternoon and then I was just throwing out what I wrote in the afternoon, so writing then was counterproductive.

I sometimes feel that if your book sells more than 20 years, then there's something in it that you can say, gee, I did something that endures, that's timeless

I never went to a ballet until I was 45 years old. I don't know why.

You can use a biography to examine political power, but only if you pick the right guy.

I think President Obama has done more than he is given credit for.