Mom Was A Smoker. My Grandfather Was

Every Novel Deals With Social Problems. It Can't Help It Because The Protagonist Must Come In Conflict With His Group. So The Author Has To Offer An Analysis Of How The Group And The Protagonist Fit. Otherwise, The Reader Will Just Say, "this Makes No Sense," And Will Put It Away.

The Brave View Is That Talking It Out Helps Work It Out. Maybe The Realistic View Is That Talking It Out Inflames The Issues Further. But That Is America, Especially These Days.

A Novelist Is On The Cusp Between Someone Who Knows Everything And Someone Who Knows Nothing.

When A Novel Has 200,000 Words, Then It Is Possible For The Reader To Experience 200,000 Delights, And To Turn Back To The First Page Of The Book And Experience Them All Over Again, Perhaps More Intensely.

I Loved The House The Way You Would Any New House, Because It Is Populated By Your Future, The Family Of Children Who Will Fill It With Noise Or Chaos And Satisfying Busy Pleasures.