He was wondering if there was some cryptic, cultish mark on his door that told all the crazy people he'd have trouble saying no.

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.

I was standing in the schoolyard waiting for a child when another mother came up to me. Have you found work yet? she asked. Or are you still just writing?

I write because I want more than one life; I insist on a wider selection. It's greed, plain and simple.

It seems to me that good novels celebrate the mystery in ordinary life, and summing it all up in psychological terms strips the mystery away

I write because I want more than one life; I insist on a wider selection. It’s greed, plain and simple. When my characters join the circus, I’m joining the circus. Although I’m happily married, I spent a great deal of time mentally living with incompatible husbands.

When I read, I'm purely a reader