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 didn't move. I've learned from years of experience that dogs and falcons and ladies come back to you if you stay where you are.

It's those little daily incidents of life that are dramatic, and if you put a frame around it , suddenly they become much bigger and much more important than you ever imagined.

My father was often impatient during March, waiting for winter to end, the cold to ease, the sun to reappear. March was an unpredictable month, when it was never clear what might happen. Warm days raised hopes until ice and grey skies shut over the town again.

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

It was not a house where secrets could be kept easily.

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.