Don't call 'em dogs. Dogs are loyal and they run after balls.

The richest most meaningful stories are found in small places: made, carried, crafted, told, and retold by apparently unimportant people.

I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long.

Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

I bought a selection of short, romantic fiction novels, studied them, decided that I had found a formula and then wrote a book that I figured was the perfect story. Thank goodness it was rejected.

If you can't return a favor, pass it on.

The young women in my classes are feisty and clever and believe, often with the passion of youthful optimism, that feminism is a battle already won. I worry for them - and for my daughters, too.