In fiction 'issues' are accidental, sometimes incidental. The place and the people it creates are paramount.

The notion that love is abroad in the world has shaped my life.

Surfing is one of the most joyful pursuits a human can take up. But there's no joy in a deadzone. If you've ever surfed in turds and medical waste you don't want to repeat the experience.

Who wants to be reputable? That's for golfers and tycoons with a sleazy past.

I've been a writer and a parent since adolescence, it feels like, and I'm still making both gigs up as I go along. I did both in different forms of isolation - too young by conventional standards, too far off-grid culturally and geographically. So my experience is probably too specific to be useful. None of us do this stuff the same way. We just try to endure and press on, I guess.

Doing nothing is making certain you lose. Which is just gutless.

It's funny, but you never really think much about breathing. Until it's all you ever think about.