My laptop broke and because of the storm I could not get a new one. And so I've been promoting my book via iPhone.

What's the point of having a book club if you don't get to eat brownies and drink wine?

In the wintertime I like macaroni and cheese.

An ellipsis is a giant ocean of possibilities.

I find that short stories are almost like palate cleansers, or brain cleansers.

You can quit smoking, and never have to have a cigarette again to survive. But with food, it is a daily challenge.

I love doing readings. I could really give a crap about reviews. It's kind of about the readers.

I remember being banned from other houses as a younger child during the winter holiday season; I was the only one who didn't believe in Santa Claus, and I was ruining everyone's Christmas.

I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to, even, but it could still feel big.

In 1998, I started a blog, something I could control very easily and update at my own whim.

I'm not that much of a researcher. I'm good at channeling characters, and I'm good at structure.

All things desirable to men are contained in the Bible.

Such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston.

For the world is only governed by self-interest.

It was a very limited practice; carefully safeguarded. In 1890, that practice was discontinued.

We’re all dying, Cassel. It’s just that some of us are dying faster than others.

The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.

Our dreams make us large.

Hope provides comfort, and hope does not always require probability.

Medieval and ancient sensibility now dominates our time as acoustic and multisensory awareness displaces the merely visual.

I've always been a late bloomer. My body developed late. From ninth to 10th grade, I grew like 3 inches. Just kind of stretched out. I was like 6-1, grew to 6-4 in 10th grade.