I walked over and looked closer at the statue of the goddess. She was wearing a headdress with a skull and a cobra and a crescent moon. Maybe this is what peace of mind was all about: having a poisonous snake on your head and smiling anyway.

I try to stick with what moves me or teaches me about myself, same thing I hope the novels do for others.

My Italian-American heritage, of which I'm very proud and with which I identify strongly, surfaces in several of my novels.

I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned.

Love grows from the rich foam of forgiveness, mongrels make good dogs, and the evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.

I work hard, do my best and send it out to the world hoping that people can relate to it. I accept any reaction and hope they think it is worth reading.

Look, don't just stare at the pages," I used to tell my students. "Become the characters. Live inside the book.