Mary Stewart will always be my goddess. I can pick up one of her early books - one I've read a dozen times - and still slide right into the story.

I'd always loved to read - and come from a family of readers - but I never thought about writing as a career.

Every single book is a challenge.

Every writer has to figure out what works best - and often has to select and discard different tools before they find the one that fits.

There's a sense you get from the Coens' work, like 'No Country for Old Men,' where you put these characters in situations, and you just let this painful amount of time take place. Part of the tension is just how long it takes to get out of that scene.

I keep working mainly because my wife and I spend most of our time touring the country doing our own plays.

I don't listen to rap all the time. Even though I rap, rap can be nerve-wracking.

One of the lessons of 2016 is to spend less time worrying about what will happen and more time worrying about what we want to happen.