I've got to come back and get third now. That's the best I can do. I never want to lose another match again as a high school wrestler.

Their lives amaze me. Actual people giving their lives for Christ.

I'm still sore (about losing). The first thought that went through my mind is that I'm not going to be a state champion. That's what I've worked so hard to get.

If you get too attached to how you want it to come out the other side, you freeze. I try to trust that it will work out in the end.

What is overriding that and most important is that readers generally are interested in a good character. They might be more comfortable with Harry because they think they know him, but they always seem willing to give somebody new a chance.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that when you look into the darkness of the abyss the abyss looks into you. Probably no other line or thought more inspires or informs my work.