There are many women whose lives would be immeasurably improved by widowhood, but one should not always point that out.

The people with the strong, brave exteriors are just as weak and vulnerable as the rest of us. And of course they never admit to their childish practices, their moments of weakness or absurdity, and then the rest of us think that's how it should be.

Every novel presents a slice of life. A noir policier for example presents one slice, one that perhaps addresses social dysfunction or some sort of pathology, while mine present a slice that is more upbeat and affirmative.

I have three older sisters, so we were a reasonably large family and, in general, a happy one.

It was the same with friendship. Disagreement between friends and spouses, too had to be carefully handled. If the time you spent with friends was consumed by disagreement, then there was no room for the essence of friendship, which was a sharing of the world. And that sharing involved seeing things the same way, or at least seeing things through the eyes of the friend.

Oh I love gadgets and I pride myself on keeping at the cutting edge of technology.

Do not take on a traditionally built person unless you are prepared for a heavyweight bout.