I have almost never been compared to male writers in any review. All women.

I do think that memoirs by women are reviewed differently and considered somewhat outside of the canon.

My rage and sense of alienation as to how women have been written, have allowed themselves to be written, in so many ways, has political roots.

All of my wildness is in the writing. I have discovered I have to be orderly and boring in my personal life to be wild in my work.

I think the mad wives and mistresses are my hysterics - even the fictionalized ones. I want to trace how they were silenced, I want to find for them an escape route.

I am worthy of being read. I mean, one has to be convinced of one's genius.

My writing has always been considered extremely important, even though I make slim-to-no money at it.

I am home because I am a writer, but sometimes, when I'm not productive (productivity: the expectations of capitalism), I feel like a terrible housewife, or a sick person.

I think that writing and publishing are different. I think I will always write; I might not always publish. The idea of not publishing is wonderful!

The hope in literature is that we are allowed to be imperfect, to write of our imperfection, without being overly critiqued for being unlikeable.

I think for a woman, getting older can help, through personal experience, although of course older women are then rendered invisible in our society, another existential crisis.

Be a good person but don’t waste time to prove it...

...just remember, darling, it is pain that changes our lives.

If you are a local church or non-profit, you live and die with volunteers.

I love to play smaller crowds with the Rhythm Kings.

I watch everything from independent art-house cinema to foreign film. I don't watch as many Hollywood blockbusters but once in a while, I'm curious. I like to see what's out there.

Fear is like the steam that fires the combustion engine. You need fear to get a performance going.

My personal telephone book is a book of the dead now. I'm so old. Almost all of my friends have died, and I don't have the guts to take their names out of the book.

Sometimes when there is action, we just tend to avoid those moments with music, and have music in a separate part that allows you to dream and to make your mind up on where you're at in the story.

Each day has its own destiny. Yesterday is history, today is opportunity while tomorrow is mystery.

Follow up the interview with a phone call. If Carrot Top can figure out how to use a phone, so can you.