I can only write stories that are fun, necessary, and important to me and every moment has to count. In my real life, I sometimes feel I've wasted some precious time and I have no desire to let that happen in my work, no unecessary plots, characters, or lines. I can't waste any time writing something I don't believe in and there's an audience for my work out there, they write to me and come to the signings, so I really don't care about making converts or getting new people by doing something against what I would organically write or do. that's not how to get readers- I hate the idea of courting people, kissing people'srears by changing what you don't want to change. Do what you do, write what you like to write, let your natural enthusiasm for your project come through. When you love what you're doing, that sort of fire lights other people up as well. I've never been good about faking anything or changing what I don't want to change. Just be who you are and be grateful for the audience you have.

I was recently told to try for new drinks whiskey and ginger ale and brandy and coke. It'll take me forever to remember to try them though because I barely drink and then when it's time to choose one when I'm out I always go blank and just order a vodka grapefruit again.

Someone asked me the other day about how I felt about my label and made some comment about her label which was huge, and morewell-known than mine. I love my label because there aren't as many people involved and the more people that are involved the less that actually gets done, so I needed another model of how to accomplish what I wanted and I needed a small, less-hands on group and that's exactly what I got. You don't need a lot of hullabuloo anymore- just a good story and a creative mind and enthusiastic people surrounding it.

I think people who stress about aging have more anxiety and inner turmoil than anyone. Sure, simple vanity makes us not want to age but I'll take being wiser and more accomplished over what I've been any day.

---I really want the new Kills album- Midnight Boom!--------

People really underestimate how hard it is to write an entertaining story- one that has dignity and balls and substance and fun and an uncompromising vision that someone can relate to, enjoy, and/or get behind.

I've been going through an early 90s period- Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, as well as some new stuff like Dirty Harry, the Ting Tings, Gossip, The Donnas. And of course I always bring up Sofia Coppola because she's one of the last creative visionaries working in film today- she understands how important music (and I don't mean Top 40 hits) is to film and how cool it is to take old songs that mean something to you and put them in a film, a new context that will bring a film alive and make new memories for other people.

As much as of course all writers would love to have a huge fanfare to announce each of their books and I'm definitely no exception (it would make touring and publicity so much easier and its fun for lots of people to know who you are and what you do, I can admit that) it's also great still to be under the radar- so much less baggage- I can write what I want and be really anarchic about what I like and the work can be anything I want it to be within a certain set of parameters and focus and no matter how hard I work only a small group of readrers will discover it or already know about it anyways. Unless it really gets discovered and then I support it will be a whole new game that I'll probably play the same way anyways.