At the end of the day, it's about the reader's attachment to and belief in the magical elements that make or break magical realism.

I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly.

I do no writing while I'm in Belgrade visiting my grandma.

For me it was a lot harder to come to terms with the death of my grandfather than it was to come to terms with what's happened to the former Yugoslavia.

The best fiction stays with you and changes you.

My grandfather and I were very close.

A family has its own rituals and its own superstitions.

Come on, is your heart a sponge or a fist?

We're all entitled to our superstitions.

My mother always says that fear and pain are immediate, and that, when they're gone we're left with the concept, but not the true memory.

I've always written about animals. I'm still trying to process why that is.

Snow came back, but she didn't come back right.

A sheep that walks amongst wolves is called dinner - rjs

A name doesn't make the music. It's just called that to differentiate it from other types of music.

The courts are as a stage, people love to see attractive players.

I thought and dreamed of nothing else but the steel works.

Both teams are making mistakes. Florida's making these itsy-bitsy little ones, and Tennessee is making huge, gigantic mistakes.

As my father would have said, I went through the college of hard knocks.

If I hurt someone, if I were to accidentally poke someone's eye out, I would laugh. And then I'd say, 'I'm sorry, I really do feel bad,' but then I'm on the floor rolling.

You see, this universe we inhabit is made up of billions of galaxies literally beyond counting and this is only one universe.

I've practiced meditation most of my life. It's better than lying around doing nothing.