Contentment Is Mostly A Matter Of Talking

While Writing Cold Mountain, I Held Maps Of Two Geographies, Two Worlds, In My Mind As I Wrote. One Was An Early Map Of North Carolina. Overlaying It, Though, Was An Imagined Map Of The Landscape Jack Travels In The Southern Appalachian Folktales. He's Much The Same Jack Who Climbs The Beanstalk, Vulnerable And Clever And Opportunistic.

I Met People When We Lived Down In Raleigh Who'd Ask Where I Grew Up, And I'd Say About Two Hours West Of Asheville, And They'd Say They Didn't Know There Was Any North Carolina Two Hours West Of Asheville. It Was In Many Ways An Isolated Place.

It Always Helps Me Connect With Characters, To Think About What Music They Respond To

It's A Good Thing War Is So Terrible Or Else We'd Get To Liking It Too Much.

Nothing Changes What Alreaday Happened. It Will Always Have Happened. You Either Let It Break You Down Or You Don't.