The novel is never really in the first draft. The novel really happens in the revisions.

Long after the bomb falls and you and your good deeds are gone, cockroaches will still be here, prowling the streets like armored cars.

With publicity comes humiliation.

The older a woman gets, the more invisible you become.

Most of my life is just spent lying in bed. I mean, it's enough pressure to write the words. Do I need to use the additional energy exerted by sitting up?

Whether I'm critically well received, whether or not I sell books - of course it becomes progressively harder to get them published - nevertheless, it's what I do, every day.

Why would I want to read something about somebody that's just a really nice, decent person who overcomes terrible trials? That's not how life is to me.

I feel like I sort of missed the eighties. At the time, we didn’t know we were having fun, which is probably the way it always is.

I was like a social worker for lepers. My clients had a chunk of their body they wanted to give away; for a price I was there to receive it.

I think the sixties must have been quite a lot of fun.

Brownstein's is a fresh and jaunty voice, with a jazz snap all his own.

Trouble. Sweetheart. Sang. Don't. Don't slip away." He sniffed. I felt a droplet meeting my forehead.Gabriel was crying."I need you, " he whispered. "Comeback to me. I need you.

Who casts to write a living line, must sweat.

Better freedom and a chilly road than a warm hearth and servitude.

People think of education as something that they can finish.

The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.

The sin of pride is the sin of sins; in which all subsequent sins are included, as in their germ; they are but the unfolding of this one.

You can bullied as a young model, but there was a point where I found my voice, effectively.

Even on the spiritual path, we have things we'll tend to cover up or be in denial about.

The fate of a child is in the hands of his parents.

A good wine has many qualities I think. If drunk moderately, it is healthy and good for your heart.