I Simply Write With An Intelligent Reader

I Have Always Had A Sense That We Are All Pretty Much Alone In Life, Particularly In Adolescence.

Affection Is One Of The Most Neglected Words In The English Language, That People Throw The Word Love Around Like Confetti When They Mean Affection.

People Always Ask Me About The Role Models That I'm Providing For Kids, And I Say I Can't Be Concerned With That. I'm Not Worrying About Corrupting Youth. I'm Worrying About Writing Realistically And Truthfully To Affect The Reader.

I Read A Lot Of Detective Stories Because They Always Deliver. They Give You A Beginning, A Middle, And An End - A Resolution. The Modern Novels I Read Don't Always Deliver Because I'm Looking Essentially For A Story. As In Shakespeare, "the Play's The Thing." In Particular I Read Detective Stories For Pacing, Plot And Suspense.

Salinger Is Such A Terrific Writer; He Did So Many Great Things. He Is One Of Those Writers That I Still Reread, Simply Because He Makes Me See The Possibilities And Makes Me Feel Like Writing. There Are Certain Writers Who Put You In The Mood To Write. In The Way A Whiff Of A Cigar Will Bring Back Memories Of A Ballgame On A Saturday Afternoon, Reading Salinger Makes Me Want To Get To The Typewriter.