“Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.”

“I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back east and catch Yankees games. His side of the family are big Yankees fans. But, the real connection came in '97 when I moved to New York and became friends with the team.”