I try to make my characters kind of ordinary, somebody that anybody could be. Because we've all had loves, perhaps love and loss, people can relate to my characters.

I don't have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories. I have ugly ducklings turning into confident ducks.

Nobody is ordinary if you know where to look.

I'm an escapist kind of writer.

Women who start out as ugly ducklings don't become beautiful swans. What they mainly become is confident ducks. They take charge of their lives.

The whole art of life is knowing the right time to say things.

Always write as if you are talking to someone. It works. Don't put on any fancy phrases or accents or things you wouldn't say in real life.

If you don't go to a dance you can never be rejected but you'll never get to dance either.

Because I saw my parents relaxing in armchairs and reading and liking it, I thought it was a peaceful grown-up thing to do, and I still think that.

We are all the heroes and heroines of our own lives. Our love stories are amazingly romantic; our losses and betrayals and disappointments are gigantic in our own minds.

I have always believed that life is too short for rows and disagreements. Even if I think I'm right, I would prefer to apologize and remain friends rather than win and be an enemy.

Greatness untethered from God results in calamity unrestrained by men.

Adapt to your surrounding but remain flexible for growing.

I pledge to never sign any trade agreement that hurts our workers or that diminishes our freedom and our independence. We will never, ever sign bad trade deals. America first again. America first!

Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire.

We must become the people we want our children to be.

My greatest life lesson has been that life can change in a second. This is why it's important to always live your best possible life and to do what you can for others.

I hide my grief, just like the blessed birds hide themselves when they are preparing to die, my love.

I don't have one favourite band. I like everything.

When a child grows up without a father, there is an empty place where someone must stand, providing an example of character and confidence.

As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm.