Just because we're related doesn't mean we are any good at understanding each other.

People imagine that missing a loved one works kind of like missing cigarettes,' he said. 'The first day is really hard but the next day is less hard and so forth, easier and easier the longer you go on. But instead it's like missing water. Every day, you notice the person's absence more.

It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.

Point of view is not something I consciously decide. Almost always, when I come up with a plot I find that the point of view has automatically arrived with it, part and parcel of the story.

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

I consciously try to end my novels at a point where I won't have to wonder about my characters ever again.

It seems to me that since I've had children, I've grown richer and deeper. They may have slowed down my writing for a while, but when I did write, I had more of a self to speak from.