I'm Thinking Of Taking Up Golf, But

Life May Not Always Fall Into Neat Chapters, And You May Not Always Get The Satisfying Ending You're Looking For, But Sometimes A Good Explanation Is All The Rewrite You Need.

What I Want To Do Is Tell Stories About Normal People In The American Suburbs. I Don't Write The Book Where It's A Conspiracy Reaching The Prime Minister; I Don't Write The Book With The Big Serial Killer Who Lops Off Heads. My Setting Is A Very Placid Pool Of Suburbia, Family Life. And Within That I Can Make Pretty Big Splashes.

When I Was Seventeen, I Worked As A Counsellor At A Co-ed Sleep-away Camp For Eight Weeks. I Loved It But It Could Be Harrowing - It Was Far Too Much Responsibility For Someone My Age.

There Are Few Times That I Feel More At Peace, More In Tune, More Zen, If You Will, Than When I Force Myself To Unplug.

What I Love About The Thriller Form Is That It Makes You Write A Story. You Can't Get Lost In Your Own Genius, Which Is A Dangerous Place For Writers. You Don't Want To Ever Get Complacent. If A Book Starts Going Too Well, I Usually Know There's A Problem. I Need To Struggle. I Need That Self-doubt. I Need To Think It's Not The Best Thing Ever.