She read my manuscript and said she loved it, and then she asked why I decided not to write the other part of the story in the same book. “I thought it was too ambitious,” I said. “I was afraid I couldn’t do it.” “That’s not a good reason,” she said. “Of course you can do it.” And now, I . . .
In the food issue of the New York Times Magazine, out this weekend, writers answer various questions. Mine was “How does rattlesnake taste?” Obviously I roped Dana, Max, and Nick into finding out with me, and obviously we intended to follow (to the extent possible) my former teacher Harry Crews’ instructions. Tracking down a diamondback in New York City proved . . .