“When you think about it, most of the good ideas came along to make sin a whole lot easier.”

“I tell writers not to think about writing short stories or novels. Just write one good scene. And then a novel becomes a bunch of good scenes stacked on top of each other.”

“You think you know someone. But mostly you just know what you want to know.”

“I want you to remember what was good in me, not what was most awful. The people you love should be allowed to keep their worst to themselves.”

“Oh, now don't act like the idea is so terrible. When you come down to it, what could be more romantic than a few hours of scrambling around in a cold, dripping hole known for occasionally flooding and drowning people?”

“The language of sin was universal, the original Esperanto.”

“The soul is an irrational, indivisible equation that perfectly expresses one thing: you. The soul would be no good to the devil if it could be destroyed. And it is not lost when placed in Satan's care, as is so often said. He always know exactly how to put his finger on it.”