I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.

You can’t control what other people think about your art. Think about the part of yourself that you can control, which is your ability to be kind and loving and creative.

That's the way I work. I get it all plotted in my mind, and then I write it down.

You can’t pick up and leave everything behind because there is too much sadness in the world and not enough places to go.

Just because things hadn't gone the way I had planned didn't necessarily mean they had gone wrong.

Thank God Roxane Coss had not fallen in love with one of the Russians. She doubted they could make it up the stairs without stopping for a cigarette and telling at least one loud story that no one could understand.

There can be something cruel about people who have had good fortune. They equate it with personal goodness.