I look at the great poets of the Soviet Union, like Anna Akhmatova, who endured far worse then anything we've seen or hopefully that we will ever see. If they could keep writing and keep a voice alive, keep people hopeful through their poetry, then I would be ashamed to stop and to give in. It would be really self-indulgent, unacceptable, and inexcusable to walk away from it.

Rule number something or other -- never tell anybody anything unless you're going to get something better in return.

I always wrote; my first story was published in the magazine The American Girl when I was 11

It took me nine months to write 60 pages. It was very frustrating

I wish I could remember where I put things. I spend half my life looking for my keys. With the other half I look for my glasses.

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

The possibility of bringing white-collar criminals to justice is ever receding over the horizon.