It was the kiss by which all the others of his life would be judged and found wanting.

I can remember being home from school with tonsillitis and writing stories in bed to pass the time.

Eddie discovered one of his childhood's great truths. Grownups are the real monsters, he thought.

She knew with suddeness and ease that this moment would be with her always, within hand's reach of memory. She doubted if they all sensed it - they had seen the world - but even George was silent for a minute as they looked, and the scene, the smell, even the sound of the band playing a faintly recognisable movie theme, was locked forever in her, and she was at peace.

Art should be a place of hope.

I thought it was great fun to scare people. I also knew it was socially acceptable because there were a lot of horror movies out there.

Most books about writing are filled with bullshit. Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand very much about what they do—not why it works when it’s good, not why it doesn’t when it’s bad.