Damage hardens us all. It will harden you too, when it finds you—and it will find you

When I was 30 or so - by that time I had become an assistant D.A. - I decided I would try to write a novel. To be clear: I did not decide to become a novelist. Honestly, it never crossed my mind that I could actually earn a living as a professional novelist.

An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion - you feel these things in your muscle and bones, not just in your mind.

Well, I outline fanatically. I am a long thinker and a slow writer, though I am trying to get faster.

no one worth knowing can be quite known, no one worth possessing can be quite possessed

But sometimes you can't figure everything out because you can't ever really understand other people. You can't understand why they do what they do. You just have to accept a little mystery, Ben. People are mysterious, the world is mysterious. You can't know everything. You're not supposed to. This isn't a history book. It's just the world. It's a messy place.

I love sports, as all Bostonians seem to. I love books and movies, as all writers seem to.