When a writer is already stretching the bounds of reality by writing within a science fiction or fantasy setting, that writer must realize that excessive coincidence makes the fictional reality the writer is creating less 'real.'

Sometimes I write less than I'd like but do research. Other times, editor's notes or a copy-edited manuscript or page proofs for a forthcoming novel mean that I need to put my attentions elsewhere for a day or two, but I always come back to writing.

Thirteen Orphans' is the name of a specific limit hand. The same combination is also called 'Thirteen Improbable.' Once I'd decided I wanted to write a tale where mah-jong would be at the heart, I also knew I wanted to use limit hands.

Writing - not being a writer with interesting habits - gets priority.

I've been able to provide for my family, move out of Harlem and travel the world.

Any time I have any time off, I try to travel.

Working Wardrobes needs plus-size clothing donations to help women and men feel confident on their journey to finding a job. This is what we need in today's world - to lift people up - and Working Wardrobes is doing that.

There are many problems with being a comedian: the travel, the late nights, the pressure, the fear of running out of funny things to say.