Her body was wrapped in shadows like moth wings, like rose-petals.

I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.

Lover," she whispers, and closes her eyes. It falls upon her. Love is like dying.

Take the dead from the dead, the old proverb said; only a corpse may speak true prophecy.

They walked through the rainy dark like gaunt ghosts, and Garraty didn't like to look at them. They were the walking dead.

Part of my function as a writer is to dream awake. And that usually happens. If I sit down to write in the morning, in the beginning of that writing session and the ending of that session, I'm aware that I'm writing. I'm aware of my surroundings. It's like shallow sleep on both ends, when you go to bed and when you wake up. But in the middle, the world is gone and I'm able to see better.

The only [working] ritual is making tea. I use the loose leaves and drink it by the gallon.