Suppose that a person writes what she must. That is only the first step of becoming a writer. The work must survive the moment of creation. It must get out to an audience. She or he must dare to show the work. She must risk ridicule, misunderstanding, scandal, condemnation, & what's often worse, none of the above: silence. No attention at all.

My idea of Hell is to be young again.

Live as if you like yourself, and it may happen.

The powerful don't make revolutions

I'm probably the only novelist who has ever written about political fugitives who actually knew a lot about them, had contact with them, and had a realistic notion of how they survived.

Obviously I find women more interesting than men to write about.

Suspense is one of the ways you persuade a reader to become engaged and stay engaged with your work.