Curiosity is the prime requisite of the novelist.

Women writers lift themselves up from the depths; as they rise, each brings with her what she is able to carry.

The desire to confess ... lies at the root of most fiction writing.

Every problem has an effect – every deserved curse has a consequence or result, an outcome or effect.

Fame is but the breath of the people and that often unwholesome.

I write everything as a wake-up call to myself and others, to anyone who may have gotten tired of hitting the snooze button.

I'm a horseback rider. I know how to use a whip.

I am most interested in people. I try to capture their complexity and contradiction and beauty. It does not matter where they are from.

You have to say that we are again in a massive financial bubble in bonds, in equities, in [other] asset prices that have gone up dramatically.

What is experience? A poor little hut constructed from the ruins of the palace of gold and marble called our illusions.

The restraining grace of common sense is the mark of all valid minds.

It is sometimes very hard to tell the difference between history and the smell of skunk.

It must be hard being you,” she said. “Mr. Perfect on the outside. Dr. Evil on the inside.” “It’s not that hard. The rest of the world isn’t as insightful as you.