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It was the case for a number of years that I was doing a book a year, but that was back when I was part-time teaching - and since 1991, I've been a parent, so that cuts into the time!

I set the goal of getting a book contract by age thirty.

In the university library, we know when a book has been used in a class or put on reserve... or while it was out, did somebody call it back in. It turns out to be a pretty good indicator of how relevant the work is at that time.

I don't want to wait more than a year and a half or two years between books.

I work for two years on a book and it comes out and two days later I've got my first e-mail: When is the next one coming out?

Books can now be on the stands within days from delivery of a formatted manuscript, and often are.

I write a book over a period of months or years, and when I'm done with it, usually another year goes by before I see it in print. It's hard to be patient and wait.

I gauge success in years, not weeks. The weekend box-office approach to book launches is short sighted and encourages crappy books.

Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.

I'm not one of these writers who says, 'Oh yes, the next book is due out in one year and three days.' I just say, 'You're gonna get it when it's done. It's gonna be good, but you're not going to get it until it is good.'