A short story is a sprint, a novel is a marathon. Sprinters have seconds to get from here to there and then they are finished. Marathoners have to carefully pace themselves so that they don't run out of energy (or in the case of the novelist-- ideas) because they have so far to run. To mix the metaphor, writing a short story is like having a short intense affair, whereas writing a novel is like a long rich marriage.

He is the half brother of composer Steve Reich and nephew of Broadway producer Leonard Sillman. His short story "Home on the Rain" was chosen as one of the best stories of the year by the Pushcart Prize committee. His novel Outside the Dog Museum won the British Fantasy Award and his collection of short stories won the Bram Stoker Award.

He also writes short stories. Jonathan Samuel Carroll (born January 26 1949) is an American author primarily known for novels which can be characterized as magic realist slipstream or modern fantasy.