I hate the word juicy in describing anything: lips, plots, oranges. But especially novels. It feels - icky. Reminds me of saliva.

Some people need God and some people need science.

The worst thing that's ever happened to you is not the worst thing that's ever happened to anybody.

I like writing dialogue - I can hear my characters so clearly that writing dialogue often feels as much like transcribing something as it does like creating it.

I wish I were better at straightforward description. I feel like I'm usually overdoing it or underdoing it, and it takes a lot of tweaking to get the details right.

My biggest regret is putting my body through fad diets - Atkins, cleanses, the hCG diet.

A lottery is a tax on stupidity.

I'm making music with my friends. It's fun. It should be fun. You shouldn't make music if it isn't fun.

Republicans have been trying to get people to work for no pay for a long time.

Lots of people were skeptical, but that's always true when you do something that hasn't been done before.

While I have never been a regular churchgoer, I'm anything but immune to the power and the majesty of the religious experience.

Nothing's ever easy as long as you go on living.

Science is morally neutral, but social science shows us that some moral codes are better than others.

My granddaddy died when I was about 6 years old, I think. And my grandmother took a job cooking in the school lunchroom. So she did great. She made $18 a week.