I love the idea of biracial. I actually don't use the word biracial. I tend to use mixed. Biracial to me accentuates the word race, and, you know, I don't really care for it.

The sociopaths - that's the real problem. The whole street demeanor is about pretending to be a sociopath as well so that the real ones can't find you.

Even drunk, I knew any escape plan that involved going to Detroit, Michigan, was a harbinger of doom.

It is a great moment in every freak's life when he or she finds out that at least they are not the only one.

People aren't social. They're tribal. Race doesn't exist, but tribes are real.

For some reason, people always assign high cheekbones to some ethnicity, but apparently by their regards, everybody on earth has high cheekbones. So I don't know if that matters.

Everybody just gets on my nerves after like, 10 minutes, you know.

I'm really suspicious of anybody who comes in and says, this is your identity now, or this is your belief system, and now that you have this, everything's going to be great.

My weak suit is whatever each reader hates about each book.

My strong suit is that I've been willing to risk on the page to get somewhere interesting.

I've been writing forever, 20 years.

In the grand timeline of life, two years is nothing. Here she is, her dream resurrected. Alive and soon to be kicking in fact. Dead isn't always dead.

I did an A Level in Theatre Studies and had a really inspirational teacher, and then I just went on to university.

I came into this world anxious to uncover the meaning of things, my soul desirous to be at origin of the world, and here I am an object among other objects.

A flutist who is moved to tears by his own performance will soon make the listeners laugh because of the sounds that he produces.

Gardening?is one of the most underrated aspects of diplomacy.

I am dead set against free agency. It can ruin baseball.

I shan't get free of my emotion by copying the tree faithfully, or by drawing its leaves one by one in the common language, but only after identifying myself with it.

Learning from other people is what music is all about.

I love that feeling of when it's touching and it makes you happy but there's a melancholy or bittersweet glaze to it.

Those who sentimentally indulge humanity do it no favours.