In real life there are indeed black people who have been in the middle class for generations, but in entertainment it's as if they don't exist.

I think that black fiction authors have to work very hard to avoid being typed as seeking only a black audience.

There is much depressing evidence that the religious voice is required to stay out of the public square only when it is pressed in a conservative cause.

If you're fascinated by America, you'll be fascinated by family.

Even in 2012, if there's a black character in the movies or on television that's a professional, if we even hear about their backgrounds they're always 'up from the streets.

Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.

I think of my novels as entertainments.