It's no secret that in my books I'm trying to make the comic and the serious rub up against each other just as closely and uncomfortably as I can.

At the risk of appearing disingenuous, I don't really think of myself as 'writing humor.' I'm simply reporting on the world I observe, which is frequently hilarious.

And there comes a time in your life when you realize that if you don't take the opportunity to be happy, you may never get another chance again.

People sometimes get in the habit of being loyal to a mistake.

You use simple brushstrokes in a screenplay for things over which you would take much greater pains in a novel.

Have you ever noticed that when people use the expression 'I have to say', what follows usually needn't be said?

What if all everybody needed in the world was to be sure of one friend? What if you were the one, and you refused to say those simple words?

My books are elegiac in the sense that they're odes to a nation that even I sometimes think may not exist anymore except in my memory and my imagination.

Worse, I have to admit to feeling the jealousy of one crab for another that has managed to climb out of the barrel.

Bookstores, like libraries, are the physical manifestation of the wide world's longest, most thrilling conversation.

I was the one who did come through that door. You were the one she was waiting for.

The greatest divinities of the soul are life, love and light.

In the real world, it is hard to be taken seriously as a woman. Use your brain and be smart about your choices. There's nothing wrong with being a good girl - it's actually very attractive and sexy.

Be prepared to reinvent yourself. Be prepared to go out on a limb occasionally, and be prepared to do the things that you feel strongly about

A leader who develops people adds; a leader who develops leaders multiplies.

God, who oft descends to visit men Unseen, and through their habitations walks To mark their doings.

The close games are usually lost, rather than won. What I mean by that is games are mostly won because of the opponent making mistakes during crucial moments.

Because of what's going on with the economy, I think women are realizing that maybe they don't need a closet full of clothes. They just need the right clothes.

A people are free in proportion as they form their own opinions.

I'm as good as Jean-Claude Van Damme when it comes to martial arts. Sounding a little cocky aren't I

I have never ever Googled myself, in fact I think the Christian right prohibits such things.