She was reflecting back on a truth she had learned over the years: that people heard what they wanted to hear, saw what they wanted, believed what they wanted.

Too much screaming in Congress. Too much screaming everywhere.

I liked the challenge of writing in a very concise structure in which both meaning and form are important.

My books are primarily plot driven but the best plot in the world is useless if you don't populate them with characters that readers can care about.

In suspense novels even subplots about relationships have to have conflict.

But one does not make living writing poetry unless you're a professor, and one frankly doesn't get a lot of girls as a poet.

Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.