I did get tired of hearing that criticism years ago. That is not a compliment. Being labeled a "beach read" is a put-down. So, I did deliberately set out to write a book, Camino Island, that would be very entertaining and compulsively readable and we published it on June 6 in time for summer vacation, hoping that people would buy it and take it to the beach.

There are few things in life worse than a long-winded lawyer.

You need some coffee, don't you?" "Yes, I've only had a gallon.

She was pondering the option of law school, the great American baby-sitter for directionless postgrads.

I didn't dare think of the future; the past was still happening.

It's amazing how lies grow. You start with a small one that seems easy to cover, then you get boxed in and tell another one. Then another. People believe you at first, then they act upon your lies, and you catch yourself wishing you'd simply told the truth.

The mother of a trophy wife is not automatically a trophy mother-in-law.