I think I was born with the impression that what happened in books was much more reasonable, and interesting, and real, in some ways, than what happened in life.

But what I hope for from a book - either one that I write or one that I read - is transparency. I want the story to shine through. I don't want to think of the writer.

In real life I avoid all parties altogether, but on paper I can mingle with the best of them

There is no true life. Your true life is the one you end up with, whatever it may be. You just do the best you can with what you've got.

My decision to start a new one is just that, a decision, since I never get inspirations.

She worded it a bit strongly, but I do find myself more and more struck by the differences between the sexes. To put it another way: All marriages are mixed marriages.

One sad thing about this world is that the acts that take the most out of you are usually the ones that people will never know about. (from 'Celestial Navigation')