From his 2010 interview at The New Yorker:
What was the first piece of fiction you read that had an impact on you?--Marshal Zeringue
Probably Richard Scarry’s “Busy, Busy World.” It was the first time I can remember being so taken by a fictional representation of the world that I wanted to live there instead of in the real world. And I identified very closely with Lowly Worm. I had this idea that Lowly and I and Huckle Cat could all live together in one of those timber-framed houses that Scarry drew so exactingly. I didn’t think of it that way back then, but now I think I wanted us all to be boyfriends.
How long did it take you to write your first book?
About ten years, through almost as many drafts.
Did you ever consider not becoming a writer?
Yes. I still consider it every few months or so.
What, in your opinion, makes a piece of fiction work?
I think that there needs to be...[read on]