True love is supposed to make you into a better person-uplift you.

But I am learning that perfection isn't what matters. In fact, it's the very thing that can destroy you if you let it.

I try to write about real women, real people - in other words flawed characters. I find flawed characters much more interesting than perfect ones and enjoy the challenge of making readers root for them in spite of their unsympathetic path and destructive choices. Life is about the gray areas. Things are seldom black and white, even when we wish they were and think they should be, and I like exploring this nuanced terrain.

But I have learned that you can't just create your own timetable and will it to come true.

there is always something comforting about knowing that you are not alone. That other people feel the way you do. That you are a bit screwed up, but still normal.

That's how life is. Sometimes there are happy endings, sometimes there aren't, and more often there are shades of gray.

You can run but you can't hide