The process of writing a novel begins with a pang, a moment of recognition, and a situation, a character, or something you read in a paper, that seems to go off, like a solar flare inside your head.

Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn.

Religious belief is without reason and without dignity, and its record is near-universally dreadful.

Probably human cruelty is fixed and eternal. Only styles change.

My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.

When the past is forgotten, the present is unforgettable

Closure is a greasy little word which, moreover, describes a nonexistent condition. The truth, Venus, is that nobody gets over anything.

Perhaps there are other bits of my life that would take on content, take on shadow, if only I read more and thought less about money.

When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. Work that gets harder every hour.

Love is blind; but it makes you see the blind man; teetering on the roadside . . .

Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards.

Love is the essence of life. Without love, life does not make any sense.

It's scary to make friends, it's scarier to stand up for a friend, but it's scariest to not be a friend for fear will be your only company.

Animals and nature are known to open our hearts, calm us, and reduce blood pressure and stress.

There is nothing I need so much as nourishment for my Self Esteem

I had a good loud voice and I wasn't afraid to be goofy or zany.

Christians think a long record of church attendence and Bible reading is equivalent to an advanced degree in science.

Southern lawyers don't read novels much.

Don’t you wonder sometimes, what might have happened if you tried?

Intellect doesn't translate across cultures; intuition does.

There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good stories seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky.