But the fact is, I'm not work-identified. I'm not a lawyer or a writer. I'm a mom, and I'm a woman, and that's the kind of people I want to see in books in the starring role.

Even people who counted their blessings never counted them in the morning. For one thing, there wasn't time.

And when I look at my mother, I reflect on her strength and endurance. She's cranky sometimes, but she is lovable and loving. I'd be happy to be there at 86.

I am really, I think, truly an easygoing, positive, fun person.

There was no known cure for a Catholic education.

The truth is that every writer, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, is trying to write something truly original and that's what I think I'm doing.

It's the Snickers bars. Snickers equal romance.