When poetry is on the money, 12 words can slay you. I admire that greatly.

I admire my father greatly.

When I started to be a writer, I was not going to run the risk of boring you.

I like the idea of everybody knowing each other; you know why you're doing things.

If you don't allow yourself to change from book to book - take chances - it turns into a dullish job with no health benefits or pension plan and only intermittent paychecks.

I learned my values. It's better to be poor than to be beholden. Wealth is not the object of life. You should be polite as long as possible, and when you can't be polite anymore, don't run.