Jerome said, It's like, a family doesn't work anymore when everyone in it is more miserable than they would be if they were alone, You know?

(and Catholics give out forgiveness at about the same rate as politicians give out promises and whores give out)

I recognize myself to be an intensely naive person. Most novelists are, despite frequent pretensions to deep socio-political insight.

English fiction was something I loved growing up, and it changed my life - it changed the trajectory of my life.

Novels are not about expressing yourself, they're about something beautiful, funny, clever and organic. Self-expression ? Go and ring a bell in a yard if you want to express yourself.

Make sure the lubricant is unscented. Don't join fashionable 'schools of thought.' Read everything.

When I was young, I was very technical about these things. I didn't like to admit to any intimate relation with what I was writing.