"I don't really care what people tell children - when you believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, one more fib won't hurt. But I am infuriated by the growing notion, posited in some touchy-feely quarters, that all women are, or can be, beautiful."

"Being a monarchist - saying that one small group is born more worthy of respect than another - is just as warped and strange as being a racist."

"As a child, I wanted only two things - to be left alone to read my library books, and to get away from my provincial hometown and go to London to be a writer. And I always knew that when I got there, I wanted to make loads of money."

"The Feminist Me says that a woman's right to her own body should be inviolate at all times, free from fear of peeping paps."

"One sure way to lose another woman's friendship is to try to improve her flower arrangements."

"I had to accept that I was an alcoholic, that was the main thing. I think you've got to. But I try not say that I'm an alcoholic. I prefer to say that it's a disease I've got."

"I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude."

"We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor - got her master's with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure."