I have a darker imagination than most people.

All crises, once averted, become jokes.

At Ucross I learned that I am capable of focusing deeply for long periods of time. I love to write. I don't think I would have said that before this trip.

The issue is that my book, and so many others, are not available for pre-order from Amazon. I hadn't realized how much that mattered for new authors. And how much Amazon is hurting us.

I think that sharpens the intention of a scene and clarifies a story's arc. Of course, I don't seek the questions until after I've written a scene - or maybe after I've daydreamed it.

I tossed off a mention of the pirates early on. And they became integral to the backstory. Sometimes now I imagine them in the woods. They scare me. All men. Dirty and wearing red.

I suppose that it's my impulse to mine, as a writer, these scary parts of ourselves and the world.

I am glad it's [California novel] resonated with people because, for me, most apocalyptic novels aren't scary, because they feel so very far off.

Men were stupid to forget what good sleuths women could be.

I'm married. And pregnant.

There is always only one question in the ethics of truth: how will I, as some-one, continue to exceed my own being?

Peace as a positive condition of society, not merely as an interim between wars, is something so unknown that it casts no images on the mind's screen.

Civilization is not and can never be sustainable.

Open to others as you would like them to open to you.

We said we'd never tour ... and we'll never do a tour, I don't think - or if we do it won't be longer than about two weeks.

I wondered, for the first time in my life, if life was worth all the work it took to live. What exactly made it worth it?

The camera is the least important element in photography.

There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you'll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment.

You saved me, Eve." He watched her blink in absolute shock. "What you are, what I feel for you, what we are together saved me." He kept his eyes on hers as he kissed her.

To tell the truth I cannot call my childhood bad. In your childhood you can't compare things: one eats carrots, one eats candy, both taste good. As a child you cannot tell the difference.