I wanted to wear the mantle and the pearls. I wanted to know the man who painted her like that.

Although I always said that I wanted to be a writer from childhood, I hadn't actually done much about it until I came to London.

I have spent my life waiting for something to happen,’ she said. ‘And I have come to understand that nothing will. Or it already has, and I blinked during that moment and it's gone. I don't know which is worse — to have missed it or to know there is nothing to miss.’ Falling Angels

Younger women tend to be busier, wearing more layers and more make-up. I don't know if it's because older women are more confident, or just that we don't care any more. But that pared-down approach is the same with the sentences I write; I take out adjectives and adverbs and keep the description to a minimum.

I find that when I come out of the library I'm in what I call the library bliss of being totally taken away from the distractions of life.

Over his shoulder I saw a star fall. It was me.

Jane Austen easily used half a page describing someone else's eyes; she would not appreciate summarizing her reading tastes in ten titles.