But once an idea for a novel seizes a writer...well, it’s like an inner fire that at first warms you and makes you feel good but then begins to eat you alive, burn you up from within. You can’t just walk away from the fire; it keeps burning. The only way to put it out is to write the book.

Where there is cake, there is hope. And there is always cake.

Y'all take care of yourself now... strange and interesting friends are hard to find.

These days, people spent too much time striving to understand their feelings - and then ended up with none that were genuine.

We're out of cocktail olives, it's a tragedy of historic proportions, but we're coping because we're Americans.

What will happen will happen. There is time for miracles until there is no more time, but time has no end.

One of the greatest gifts we receive from dogs is the tenderness they evoke in us. The disappointments of life, the injustices, the battering events that are beyond our control, and the betrayals we endure, from those we befriended and loved, can make us cynical and turn our hearts into flint – on which only the matches of anger and bitterness can be struck into flame. By their delight in being with us, the reliable sunniness of their disposition, the joy they bring to playtime, the curiosity with which they embrace each new experience, dogs can melt cynicism,and sweeten the bitter heart.