we need ghost stories because we, in fact, are the ghosts.

Listening to it was like having a mud-slimed piece of silk drawn lightly back and forth across her face.

A life without love is like a tree without fruit.

I don't really map anything out. I just let it happen [while writing]. But once it happens, it's always there. If it's laid, it's played. If I get to page 300 and it's not working, I junk it.

His name is Legion. He is the king of nowhere.

With six weeks' worth of recuperation time, you'll also be able to see any glaring holes in the plot or character development. And listen--if you spot a few of these big holes, you are forbidden to feel depressed about them or to beat up on yourself. Screw-ups happen to the best of us.

We fall from womb to tomb, from one blackness and toward another, remembering little of the one and knowing nothing of the other ... except through faith.