If they aren't real enough to surprise me, then they aren't real enough to go on the page.

Storylines are how characters create the plots involved in their stories.

Very few editors worry about heresy - their goals are much too commercial, thank goodness.

Common folk didn't have last names in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Providing a writer isn't put off by conventions - and some are - attending them can be a nice break from the necessary isolation of writing.

Art goes into the world unarmed, vulnerable to every quirk of fate, and it must survive only by its power to move men not to destroy it.

Isn't that an odd philosophy for a vampire?

I'm not a good collaborator in general.

When you're a mid-list writer, it pays to write fast.

My most important title is still “mom-in-chief.” My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.

It's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for.

IKEA is not completely perfect. It irritates me to hear it said that IKEA is the best company in the world. We are going the right way to becoming it but we are not there yet.

When I meet successful people I ask 100 questions as to what they attribute their success to. It is usually the same: persistence, hard work and hiring good people.

I'm attracted to men who are going to stand up to me.

There's no idea that can't be explained to a thoughtful 14-year-old. If the thoughtful 14-year-old doesn't get it, it is your fault, not the 14-year-old's.

Shake your fist all you want but dead is dead

There is nothing more Islamic than critical thinking.

Does Nature supplement what man advanced? Or does she complete what he began?

Getting that audience approval is always a question mark, and it's always that flag that flutters in front of you.