“I think it’s possible to be multi-rooted, rather like a banyan tree, without being deracinated.”

I want my books to sell, to be read. I’m not interested in being obscure.

God save us from people who mean well.

My eyes close. I am here and not here. A waking nap? A flight to the end of the galaxy and perhaps a couple of billion light-years beyond?

I am certainly not allergic to causes – particularly on subjects such as religious intolerance.

Dear though the reader might be, I’d be silly to cater to what the reader wanted.

Don’t put things off till it’s too late. You are the DJ of your fate.

Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person’s power. Be just to yourself.

In a painting, you can’t make out whether the artist painted the left eye before the right eye. In Chinese calligraphy, you can see the progression of the artist’s stroke.

For a writer, obsession is a good substitute for self-discipline.

I think if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. And worth thinking about it as well.

I think goodness is about how person behaves to person, and also person to world, to nature.

You can talk good ideas out of existence.

God save us from people who mean well.

I don’t pick and choose subjects or settings; they pick and choose me.

To not be able to love the one you love is to have your life wrenched away.

The past is the past, and he can’t make amends, only hope that the gain will outlast the damage.

Don’t be worried about the next man – make sure your business tight.

There’s no difference in dealing with the music business with the majors than any other competition. The music business is way more cutthroat than any other business.

I’m not interested in what other people are doing. That’s their business.

I’ll get seven hours sleep a night, but after breakfast, I’ll have an hour just resting, to recover. In Spain they all have siestas, even businessmen.

Filling a need is not merely good business; it’s a basic attitude towards life. If you see a need, do whatever you can to meet that need.

I’m one of the baddest, hardest-hitting heavyweights in the business. Right here from Alabama, baby.

The record business. It’s exactly what it is-Record-Busin ess. You have to take care of both, or they won’t take care of you.

At the end of the day, we’re all brothers and sisters in God. What people do is none of my business.