The biggest influence on my books was the fact that I had worked in a newspaper for so long. In a daily paper, you learn to write very quickly; there is no time to sit and brood about what you are going to say.

Happiness is knowing and appreciating what you've got. I am very, very, very grateful for what, to me, is dead easy.

I've seen a lot of people buy my books and then fall asleep on the plane soon afterwards.

I have great family and good friends; the stories I told became popular, and people all over the world bought them.

We have to make our own happiness, and we have to make our own decisions and play the hand that is dealt to us.

I look placid, you see, that's why people think I'm fine. Inside I worry a lot.

My memory of my home was that it was very happy, and that there was more fun and life there than there was anywhere else.