Like all guests, after a fortnight, grief is best beyond the door.

I'm not afraid to say what I'm afraid of. Does that make me fearless?

The devil knows more from experience than from being the devil

So how are you supposed to learn how to drive with this guy yapping at you? My brothers were the ones who got to practice. So when you have to get on the expressway, you're afraid. That's what I think. That's why I take back routes on two-lane highways.

I remember when they started publishing Latino fiction years ago. You had to be really good to get published. Now you don't have to be that good.

I have to say my favorite stories are ghost stories. I don't like to see these made-up monster films or scary films with ghosts. It doesn't do anything to me. But a real ghost story that someone tells me, that I like.

I find myself using Spanish words much more now that I'm older, and I guess I have the authority to do it in public spaces in ways that I felt I couldn't when I was teaching here fifteen years ago.