“I have to believe that the stories I write are true. I don’t care if they are real, but I have to believe that they’re true. I know that reality and truth are not always the same thing. I’m not interested in reality, but I have a great interest in truth. I have to believe that the story I write every time is true, and I have to believe in what my characters say, what they do, what they feel. That takes a lot of time. To me they are strangers. Maybe they’re human beings that are born out of my imagination, but I have to get to know them and I have to believe them.”