We understand tornadoes scientifically, but it still feels supernatural. The randomness makes it feel supernatural.

You have only so many chances to tell stories. I didn't want to be forever wedded to one form of storytelling when there are so many out there.

I started writing as soon as I started reading.

What I love is the writing, it's not having written. I like the process of it.

I think pressure can be an incentive toward improvement, and while I'm not denying that I feel some, I will also stress that it is self-inflicted and hopefully can be channeled in a healthy way.

You should be writing for the love of the story, and when it comes time to return to the manuscript, everything else belongs behind a closed door.

I think anyone who writes suspense fiction and says that King isn't an influence is either lying or being foolish.

Band of Skulls is joining Cage the Elephant as my new musical caffeine.

Horror and supernatural novels give you a lot of what you look for in a crime novel, just with a twist that was very fresh for me as a reader.

He stood at the edge of town feeling very small, powerless. Night in the mountains could do that to you, reminding you of your place in the world and laughing at any sense of self-importance.

My life is circus

The only animal capable of giving man a fair fight is man. Actually, among ourselves, we fight unfairest of all, and the more we practice, the nastier we get.

This is not a lie: Memory has the taste and texture of cooked meat. Eat it and live. Remember, but only what it is licit to remember.In Aerograd, the word for meat and memory are the same.

Age and illness made one a dualist

It is impossible for a hatless woman to be chic.

And when in doubt, be extreme.

The only true non-conformists are in the asylums; the only radically free spirits are in the death house awaiting the chair. We live by patterns.

Live in your hopes and not in your fears.

The virtue of Yankee upbringing spiritually speaking is of more downright value to me than any past heritages.

The maturing process of becoming a writer is akin to that of a harlot. First you do it for love, then for a few friends, and finally only for money.