There's always a version of me who is the narrator. And I make myself look better than other people.

A novel is a great act of passion and intellect, carpentry and largess. From the very beginning, I wrote to explain my own life to myself, and I invited readers who chose to make the journey with me to join me on the high wire.

There are other writers who try for subtle and minimalists effects, but I don't travel in that tribe.

I've met many, many writers who say they would never write about their family, never write about people they did not totally make up. But that is not the composition of my character.

There are musicians who go through their lives sort of shedding their skins. For me, I've always felt backward-compatible to Version 1.0.

I told my kids when they were little, 'Look, kids, your mother and I are screwing you up somehow. We don't understand how, or we wouldn't do it. But we're parents. So somehow we're damaging you, and I want you to know that early. So just ignore me when I go to that part of my parenting.'