I love revising. If you demystify the process, it comes down to four strategies: what can I do to make the draft better; what should I cut out to make it stronger; what do I need to do to clarify it; and finally, what should I reposition.

But what are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?

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

Change what you can, accept what you can't, and be smart enough to know the difference

I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.

I need to get lost and sometimes my characters lead me to places I don't expect to go.

The point is this: that the stream of memory may lead you to the river of understanding. And understanding, in turn, may be a tributary to the river of forgiveness.