I'm not afraid of werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels, I'm afraid of what real human beings to do other real human beings.

Working within the limitations of the shared world generally made the writing easier, because I didn't have to invent any of the characters or background, which is usually the hardest part.

I went to college, though I didn't take many writing courses.

Everything that you read is an influence on everything you write, and you want to draw as many elements into your work as you can.

That's why editors and publishers will never be obsolete: a reader wants someone with taste and authority to point them in the direction of the good stuff, and to keep the awful stuff away from their door.

Try to meet as many authors, agents, and editors as you can.

The Rift, which was well over a thousand pages of manuscript, took two years.