Science fiction let me do both. It let me look into science and stick my nose in everywhere.

The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.

Fantasy is totally wide open all you really have to do is follow the rules you've set. But if you're writing about science, you have to first learn what you're writing about.

No one was going to stop me from writing and no one had to really guide me towards science fiction. It was natural, really, that I would take that interest.

So fantasy was fine early on, and when I discovered science fiction, I was very happy with it, because my first interest in science fiction came with an interest in astronomy.

I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining.

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.