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

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.

If it weren't for book tours, I would never leave my house.

Let's talk about a decision that women have to make every morning- Big purse or little purse?

I am an open book, literally. I don't mind if people know way too much about me.

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.

Bad things are like waves. They're going to happen to you, and there's nothing you can do about it. They're part of life, like waves are a part of the ocean. If you're standing on the shoreline, you don't know when the waves are coming. But they'll come. You gotta make sure you get back to the surface, after every wave. That's all.