If There Is One Eternal Truth Of

Every Writer Knows He Is Spurious; Every Fiction Writer Would Rather Be Credible Than Authentic.

Remember Graham Green's Dictum That Childhood Is The Bank Balance Of The Writer? I Think That All Writers Feel Alienated. Most Of Us Go Back To An Alienated Childhood In Some Way Or Another. I Know That I Do.

But There Is A Big Difference In Working For The West And Working For A Totalitarian State.

Those Who Are Not With Mr. Bush Are Against Him. Worse, They Are With The Enemy. Which Is Odd, Because I'm Dead Against Bush, But I Would Love To See Saddam's Downfall -- Just Not On Bush's Terms And Not By His Methods. And Not Under The Banner Of Such Outrageous Hypocrisy.

Coming Home From Very Lonely Places, All Of Us Go A Little Mad: Whether From Great Personal Success, Or Just An All-night Drive, We Are The Sole Survivors Of A World No One Else Has Ever Seen.