Spontaneity comes after skill, not before.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

Grace is a free sacred gift from God.

The books - the generous friends who met me without suspicion - the merciful masters who never used me ill!

We are beings of energy, and as such we are all perfect magnets - – attracting according to our personal energy vibration.

Satisfying a savage instinct is incomparably more pleasurable than satisfying a civilized one.

she's gotoceanstucked awayin her hairpoems swimunder her skin.

One of the most compelling things about you is the energy you put forth—whether it is positive, negative, or neutral. And that is only the beginning.

I love the Swedish people for their detective novels, their archipelago, their sense of humor, their carbonated vodka, and most especially, for their wonderful hospitality.

I want to use my gifts to tell the truth, and to tell it as beautifully as I can.

The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.

[Mid-list writers are now] less greed on the part of both publishers and chain booksellers. It is easier for them to publish and sell only blockbusters and leave the real work to small presses.