If You're Not Ready To Die, Then

I've Always Known And Been Interested In People Who Are A Little Bit Off The Norm. I Like To Call Attention To The Idea That They Are There, That They Are Real People, Not Invisible.

Growing Up, I'd Already Decided I Wanted To Be A Beatnik. A Bohemian Poet, I Thought. Or A Musician. Maybe An Artist. I'd Dress In Black Turtlenecks And Smoke Gitanes. I'd Listen To Cool Jazz In Clubs, Getting Up To Read Devastating Truths From My Notebook, Leaning Against The Microphone, Cigarette Dangling From My Hand.

My Characters Seem Real Because They Are Drawn From The Realities Of My Life. I Didn't Have To Research Their Pain; I Just Tapped Into My Own.

The Thing With Pretending You're In A Good Mood Is That Sometimes You Can Actually Trick Yourself Into Feeling Better.

Why Did Men Worship In Churches, Locking Themselves Away In The Dark, When The World Lay Beyond Its Doors In All Its Real Glory?