I Think Writing A Poem Is Like

Intensely Moving But Never Sentimental, Academy Street Is A Profound Meditation On What Faulkner Called 'the Human Heart In Conflict With Itself'. In Tess Lohan, Mary Costello Has Created One Of The Most Fully Realized Characters In Contemporary Fiction. What A Marvel Of A Book.

I Think I Had A Particular Moment When I Was 15 Years Old. I Read 'crime And Punishment,' And That Book Just, I Think, More Than Any Other Book Made Me Want To Be A Writer, 'cause It Was The First Time That I Hadn't Just Entered A Book, But A Book Had Entered Me.

I Love Learning About Different Dialects And I Own All Sorts Of Regional And Time-period Slang Dictionaries. I Often Browse Through Relevant Ones While Writing A Story. I Also Read A Lot Of Diaries And Oral Histories.

Furthermore, Even If Ideas Were Gettable - Say, Stacked In A Secluded Cave Like The Dead Sea Scrolls - I Wouldn't Go There. An 'idea,' Especially One Adhered To From Start To Finish, Can Be Disastrous For A Compelling Piece Of Fiction.

One Thing's Sure And Nothing Surer. The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get- Children