War is what happens when language fails.

There's something final about saying you were married once. It's like saying you were dead once. It shuts them up.

Writers and books are cheap dates, especially when you compare the cost of a book with a ticket to the opera - or an NHL game.

When people in my generation started to write, we did not actually have much of a movie industry, much of a theater scene, much of a television industry or other creative outlets. But we had a lot of aspiring writers. All that has changed. We now have a movie industry, television industry and lots of theater. But we have retained a large contingent of writers and a dedicated readership. The larger number of people in society who value writing, the larger number of good writers will be produced. That's my belief. It raises the bar.

Powerlessness and silence go together.

I have a big following among the biogeeks of this world. Nobody ever puts them in books.

If a stranger taps you on the ass and says, "How's the little lady today!" you will probably cringe. But if he's an American, he's only being friendly.