"Neophyte writers tend to believe that there is something magical about ideas and that if they can just get a hold of a good one, then their futures are ensured."

"No one uses a ribbon typewriter any more, but your final draft is not the time to try to wring a few more sheets out of your inkjet cartridge."

"Wisdom principle 84 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 37."

"When I'm not writing or tweaking my computer, I do embroidery. When I'm not plunging into the past, tweaking, or embroidering, I'm reading books about history, computers, or embroidery."

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."

"My generation of bossy, confident, baby-boom women were something brand new in history. Our energy and assertiveness weren't created by Betty Friedan, unknown before her 1963 book, or by Gloria Steinem, whose political activism, as even the Lifetime profile admitted, did not begin until 1969."

"I'm driven to go out and find new things to write about."

"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works."