In the course of my research, I've read a lot of incredibly bad books - mostly by academics. I'm puzzled as to just why their writing is so terrible. These are smart people, after all.
I would like to know what politicians eat on the campaign trail, what Picasso ate in his pink period, what Walt Whitman ate while writing the verse that defined America, what mid-westerners bring to potlucks, what is served at company banquets, what is in a Sunday dinner these days, and what workers bring for lunch.
I have an increasingly strong feeling that all of us, myself included, too many times make too many statements and don't ask enough questions.
I'd done occasional short stories, but I don't like publishing them in literary magazines; they treat you too much like college boys.
I am of that '60s generation, and for people of my age, that phrase 'change the world' has a real resonance.
One of the things I am most proud of is refusing to serve in the military when drafted during the Vietnam War.
