L.a.: Come On Vacation, Go Home On

I Don't Want To Recover From Writing This Book [the Onion]. I Feel Very Poised. I Feel Like I'm With My Mother For The First Time Ever. I Feel Like I've Confronted Her, And The Confrontation Goes On.

I Am A Writer. I Could Not Afford To Take 15 Months Off From My Writing Career To Play Detective.

For A Much Lauded Writer, I'm Not Terribly Self-absorbed. In Social Situations, Which Are Difficult For Me - I Mean, This Is An Interview - I'm Normally Uncomfortable Talking About Myself.

I Like To Have Fun Out There. I Work Hard, And Then I Get To Cut Loose And Go Out And Tour, And I Enjoy It. I Like To Go Out And Meet The People. I Love To Sell Books.

I Cleaned Up. I Quit Drinking, I Quit Doing Drugs, I Quit Stealing, I Quit Breaking Into Houses, I Tried To Quit Being A Bad Human Being. I Developed A Conscience Later In Life Than Many. I Call It The Lost-time-regained Dynamic.