Guilleaume left La Praline with a small bag of florentines in his pocket; before he had turned the corner of avenue des Francs Bourgeois I saw him stoop to offer one to the dog. A pat, a bark, a wagging of the short stubby tail. As I said, some people never have to think about giving.

If you want something you can have it, but you have to do some work. It's the ethic my mother brought me up with.

I am not at all a chocoholic. I would rather eat anchovy toast.

It's a feeling which tells me that any woman can be beautiful in the eyes of a man who loves her.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

One of the things that writing has taught me is that fiction has a life of its own. Fictional places are sometimes more real than the view from our bedroom window. Fictional people can sometimes become as close to us as our loved ones.

For me, the magic of Hawaii comes from the stillness, the sea, the stars.