I'm afraid of the general things that everyone is afraid of: a bump in the night that could be a cat or Death dragging his sickle across the room; losing my health; becoming homeless, never meeting George Clooney.

I am a bit of a Dudley Do-Gooder, though, because if I see a car accident or something bad happen, I am one of those idiots who runs toward the problem instead of away from it. Not that I would recommend this behavior.

When a woman creates an unlikable character, a lot of people think it's a mistake.

You can take my heart, but I can't let you take my dog.

I was with a real jerk after the first heartbreak, and once I did the prerequisite eating an entire cake and singing "All By Myself" in the shower, I realized that people treat you badly when you let them, and that I had to respect myself and not let anyone else treat me that way again. If someone really loves you, they are your biggest champion, not your biggest detractor.

Keeping libraries open, giving access to all children to all books is vital to our nation's sovereignty.

A lot of novels use crime as a stepping stone to talk about greater issues. So I just think of myself as a writer.