Because I saw my parents relaxing in armchairs and reading and liking it, I thought it was a peaceful grown-up thing to do, and I still think that.

I don't have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories. I have ugly ducklings turning into confident ducks.

I try to make my characters kind of ordinary, somebody that anybody could be. Because we've all had loves, perhaps love and loss, people can relate to my characters.

Nobody is ordinary if you know where to look.

I'm an escapist kind of writer.

Women who start out as ugly ducklings don't become beautiful swans. What they mainly become is confident ducks. They take charge of their lives.

The whole art of life is knowing the right time to say things.

Always write as if you are talking to someone. It works. Don't put on any fancy phrases or accents or things you wouldn't say in real life.

If you don't go to a dance you can never be rejected but you'll never get to dance either.

We are all the heroes and heroines of our own lives. Our love stories are amazingly romantic; our losses and betrayals and disappointments are gigantic in our own minds.

I have always believed that life is too short for rows and disagreements. Even if I think I'm right, I would prefer to apologize and remain friends rather than win and be an enemy.

There's nothing quite like a good quest for getting your blood pumping.

Next time it'll be your nuts.

Let’s just say, there’s not much of a moon out tonight, ” Nose continued anyway, “but if Yale joined us, there would be.

I went to an art school in Brooklyn and painted Fine Art, if thats what youd call it for eight years in New York, until I saw the first underground comics in the East Village Other.

The only grandeur of imperialism lies in the nation's losing battle against it.

In the spiritual realm, the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge, it's obedience.

I realized that even if we went on talking till Judgment Day, I would still find the time all too short.

I belong to no organized political body. I am a Democrat.

Leave undone whatever you hesitate to do.