Women often have a great need to portray themselves as sympathetic and pleasing, but we're also dark people with dark thoughts.

The belief that consciousness extends beyond death is surely to put more belief in the permanence of self, not less. That seems to me a comfort that you're allowing yourself.

The ideal reader cannot sleep when holding the writer he was meant to be with.

Anyone over the age of thirty catching a bus can consider himself a failure.

English writing tends to fall into two categories - the big, baggy epic novel or the fairly controlled, tidy novel. For a long time, I was a fan of the big, baggy novel, but there's definitely an advantage to having a little bit more control.

Pulchritude--beauty where you would least suspect it, hidden in a word that looked like it should signify a belch or a skin infection.

When the male organ of a man stands erect, two thirds of his intelect go away. And one third of his religion.