I was not going to use writing for advertising or journalism. I would tend bar, load trucks, chauffeur - do whatever it took. But from the moment I took my first writing workshop, I was a writer.

[The novel represented a big step for the author, too.] Coming from the world I was in, writing very esoteric short fiction ... I knew exactly what boundary I was stepping over, ... I was leaving one camp and stepping into another.

I'd done it before. It's a heavy load, and I was a lot more hands on when I first took over. But I was very relieved when (James and Christ) were able to take over - I'm pretty much their assistant now. We've got two of the best coaches in the state right there. What they've done is nothing short of miraculous.

The world does not have tidy endings. The world does not have neat connections. It is not filled with epiphanies that work perfectly at the moment that you need them.

Twelve dead?” I said. “Jesus.

There is a huge difference between journalism and advertising. Journalism aspires to truth. Advertising is regulated for truth. I'll put the accuracy of the average ad in this country up against the average news story any time.