Above all else she mustn't think that using her body will help her attain her goal. Men use women who play seductively, and then they look down on them.

I also really loved the sea when I was young, when I lived in Sicily, but unfortunately the sea here has been reduced to a trash dump. It's a horrible pain going to the beach; you risk getting an infection or getting tar all over you.

He talked and talked because he didn't know what to say.

Don't wait for success, but for the respect and interest of those who read you. At the start it could be a classmate, someone who shares your interests. Before sending off the manuscript for a novel to a publishing house, it would be a good idea to try writing short stories, and publishing them in a local magazine.

Aging has brought me greater liberty in fiction. When I was young I was harder on myself. I wrote with an idea of absolute seriousness.

Above all else she mustn't think that using her body will help her attain her goal. Men use women who play seductively, and then they look down on them.

I don't always understand my characters. I write to understand them better.