When I hit a block, regardless of what I am writing, what the subject matter is, or what's going on in the plot, I go back and I read Pablo Neruda's poetry. I don't actually speak Spanish, so I read it translation. But I always go back to Neruda. I don't know why, but it calms me, calms my brain.

I do no writing while I'm in Belgrade visiting my grandma.

What inspires me most to write is the act of traveling.

Suddenness," he says. " You do not prepare, you do not explain, you do not apologize. Suddenly, you go. And with you, you take all contemplation, all consideration of your own departure. All the suffering that would have come from knowing comes after you are gone, and you are not a part of it.

When you're in a place, the details you focus on are different than details you focus on when you're writing about it.

I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly.

The best fiction stays with you and changes you.