I guess I don't have a candidate who makes my heart go pitter-patter the way I wish it would. I'm thinking, here's an African American candidate - yes! And here's a woman candidate - yes! Why can't I get behind either one of them? Don't tell me I have latent sexism or racism that I need to confront. I don't believe that. I think we are so burned by the current situation that we want somebody that it isn't possible to have. We want someone who definitely looks like the messiah.

If I were elected President, the first thing I would do would be to set up a Department of Restoring the Bill of Rights. I would have 10,000 people working there.

My parents were liberal intellectuals but even they expected me to stay at home and look after my younger siblings and do the housework.

Hard to remember who is more dangerous: the people who are attacking our liberties overseas, or those who are suppressing them at home.

Write what you care about.

No agent wants to see a book until he or she has decided whether to pursue the relationship

Most people don't have the money to spend on advertising to create awareness among readers, nor do they have the contacts at newspapers or magazines to get their books reviewed.