It’s the great surprise of my life that I ended up loving [my father] so much.

Among the worst things about growing old is the loss of those irreplaceable friends who added richness and depth to your life.

I envy the tireless intimacy of women’s friendship, its lastingness, and its unbendable strength.

I don’t know when reading books became the most essential thing about me, but it happened over the years and I found myself the most willing servant of what I considered a rich habit.

Moonrise is a fabulous novel and my damn wife wrote it and that’s me up there near Highlands shouting it out to the hills.

It eases my soul that I share a house with [Cassandra King] a novelist of such rare and distinctive gifts.

My father managed to change his entire life after I wrote a novel about his brutal regime as a family man. It took resoluteness and courage for my father to change, and I need to acknowledge that.

I have always been attracted to male writers who can demonstrate their love and affection for women with ease, yet not draw attention to themselves.

I have read like a man on fire my whole life because the genius of English teachers touched me with the dazzling beauty of language.

I have yet to meet an English teacher who assigned a book to damage a kid.

A woman in Charlotte approached me and said that she’s tired of the dysfunction in my novels. I told her I was sorry, but that is how the world has presented itself to me throughout my life.

I know who I am, and I'm being true to myself.

If i were to backbite against anyone, it would be about my parents for they have more right to my good deeds

Living well is a courageous act.

I've been criticized for not having perspective in the past and I thought that of myself many times but not there.

I think it's a big disservice to our country and to our democracy to continue to raise these doubts.

I do find myself drawn more to pieces that I feel are wrestling with the way that we're living now, what we're all going through.

Where no visible fruit can be found, there you may be sure is no conversion.

I work with a couple charities called Serving Those Who Serve and Rebuilding Together. Both are supportive of veterans when they come home.

If you want to be true to life, start lying about it

It's always funny to find what people's button is.