"I think coldness is chic among writers, and particularly ironic coldness. What is absolutely not allowable is sadness. People will do anything rather than to acknowledge that they are sad."

"One should never be sexually involved with anyone one genuinely cares for. A sexual relationship guarantees a loss."

"It was actually a women's writing group I belonged to in graduate school that gave me the courage to move from poetry to fiction."

"It is spectacular. From about five minutes in, when we knew for sure that we were going to have the weather to go, the smile on my face just got bigger and bigger, and I was just beaming through the whole launch. I mean, it is just an amazing ride."

"Tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sunbeams."

"Men are happy to be laughed at for their humor, but not for their folly."

"Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing."