I know what I write about seems exotic to a lot of people, but not for me. I pulled up to an old trading post and saw a few elderly Navajos sitting on a bench. I felt right at home.

IF you are not for yourself, who will be for you? If you are only for yourself, what are you? If not now, when?

How can you stop writing?

An author knows his landscape best; he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place.

You write for two people, yourself and your audience, who are usually better educated and at least as smart.

The first Chapter Law is, "Don't spend much time on it. You're going to have to rewrite it."

The highest praise a writer can give another is to say he wishes he had written his book. I wish I had written Forty Words for Sorrow. Giles Blunt has a tremendous talent. If you miss Forty Words for Sorrow, you'll miss one of best novels of 2001.