Love stories are probably all Ive ever been able to write or want to write.

I won't read novels while writing novels.

But what are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?

Getting a job scared her but she was determined not to shy away from risk. That's what life's all about. Climbing out onto the airplane wing and jumping off.

First I laughed my way through Elinor Lipman's book of political tweets. Then I put my ear to the ground and listened to Molly Ivins guffawing from the grave. Lipman is a piquant poetic rock star!

All the dead bolts, pulled shades and hidden knives in the world couldn't protect you from the truth.

I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned.