Nothing beats novel writing because it's complete expression of you. You just control everything. Not even a movie director has that level of control.

I'm not sure that it's possible to write a novel about people who don't transgress or stumble, people who don't surprise themselves with the things they do, people who can explain all their actions with perfect logical consistency. At least it's not possible for me to write that sort of novel.

I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.

From a distance, it makes perfect sense that the people and the things you think will save you are the very ones that have the power to disappoint you most bitterly, but up close it can hit you as a bewildering surprise.

I used to describe myself as a comic novelist, but my concerns seem to have darkened over the past few years.

When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.

I really wanted to be a musician, but it turned out I had no sense of time.